Dragonfly in Amber

Iverness, 1968. Roger Wakefield, a history professor at Oxford, is in Iverness, a city in the Highlands of Scotland. He is there to pack up the home of his deceased adoptive father, his biological uncle, the Reverend Mr. Reginald Wakefield. As he tries to decide where to begin, Claire and Brianna Randall arrive. Claire asks Roger to help her find out what happened to a list of men she believes fought at the battle of Culloden in 1746 during the Jacobite Uprising. She also asks what Roger knows about the Druids in the area. He remembers that his uncle’s previous housekeeper, Mrs. Graham, was part of a local Druid group, but Roger says she has since passed away. He adds that her granddaughter, Fiona, works at the manse currently.

Roger begins to search for the names on Claire’s list and is interested to find they are all listed on a roster for the Master of Lovat’s regiment. He considers this a coincidence, as many names in 1700 Highlands were similar. He also finds that a Captain James Fraser is listed among these men, but Claire did not add that name to her list. Roger has little luck elsewhere and decides to look through his uncle’s papers.

Roger tells Claire he found information on several of the names on her list. He tells her two immigrated to America and four died of illness. He agrees to continue searching for the others.

Late that night, Roger has trouble sleeping so he goes down to his uncle’s desk. He begins to clear it out and finds a stack of newspaper clippings that describe how Claire was found near Iverness after having been missing for nearly three years. The clippings are dated late spring of 1948. When Roger realizes Claire was pregnant upon her return, he concludes that Brianna is not Frank Randall’s daughter. He is unsure what to do about this information but is curious if Brianna’s biological father lives in Iverness and is the reason Claire has brought her to the Highlands.

Brianna and Claire are shopping in Iverness when it begins to rain. When they run to a café to find shelter, they spot Roger’s car in the train station lot. Claire tells Brianna she needs to post a letter before the post office closes. She sends Brianna to finish her shopping while she catches a taxi. Instead of going to the post office, Claire goes to Reverend Wakefield’s manse to speak with Fiona about her grandmother.

Brianna and Roger tour the museum at Culloden and discuss the two men who were the army leaders at the battle. Roger tells Brianna that even though the Duke of Cumberland won on behalf of King George II, most Scots still support Charles Edward Stuart, who was fighting on behalf of his father, James Stuart, Queen Anne’s exiled half-brother. Roger reveals to Brianna that he is a descendant of the MacKenzie clan and, as such, is loyal to the Stuarts. They visit the grave markers and Roger helps Brianna leave heather and white roses at the Fraser stone.

The following day, Brianna goes to the manse to help Roger search through the boxes in the garage. They find a few boxes that could hold records from small churches in the area. As they prepare to go inside for lunch, Brianna finds a box with Randall written on the side. They take it inside and find a copy of Frank Randall’s family tree and a military commission in the name of Jonathan ‘Jack’ Randall dated 1735. Roger gives the box to Brianna to take back to the bed and breakfast to share with Claire, but first he removes one of his uncle’s journals that he sees inside. Later that night, Roger looks through the journal and sees that his uncle wrote about Claire’s return in 1948, her pregnancy, and Frank’s reaction to her return.

Brianna tells Claire that Roger invited them to visit St. Kilda, an old, abandoned church, with him the following day. Claire agrees with the thought that there will not be many other people and she will have the opportunity to tell them both what she has come to Scotland to tell Brianna.

Roger and Brianna climb to the top of the hill where St. Kilda lies. They begin to explore the cemetery while they wait for Claire to join them. Roger shows Brianna the grave of Jack Randall. When Claire sees it, she has a surprisingly violent reaction. Brianna and Roger have an intimate moment inside the church, but Claire screams, drawing them outside again. Claire has found another grave bearing the name James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser. When Brianna rushes over to check on her, Claire shows her that James’ wife’s name is Claire. She says that this is her husband and Brianna’s father.

Claire, Roger, and Brianna return to the Reverend’s house. Claire convinces Roger and Brianna she is not having a mental breakdown. Frank thought the same thing 20 years ago, so they made a deal: If she promised she would not tell Brianna about her biological father during Frank’s lifetime, he promised to be a good father to Brianna. Frank is gone now, so she needs to tell her daughter the truth. She wants Roger there because she believes he is more likely to believe her and because of research she did into his background that makes her believe he should know as well.

Claire begins her story by telling them about her visit to Craigh na Dun in 1946, how she was transported to 1743, and how Jack Randall found her. She describes being rescued by Jamie’s kin and taken to Leoch. She tells them how she was tried for witchcraft and how Jamie saved her. She tells them that she told Jamie the truth and he tried to send her back, but she refused to leave. Finally, she describes how she rescued Jamie from Wentworth Prison. Brianna is angry and disbelieving, but Roger listens, asks pertinent questions, and seems to believe her. Roger shows Brianna the news clippings he’d discovered among his uncle’s things. Claire explains she and Jamie went to Paris in hopes of preventing the battle that took place at Culloden.