David Balfour, the hero of the earlier book, is again the narrator, and through his eyes the reader gains insight into the aftermath of Bonnie Prince Charlie's defeat at Culloden. The story is peopled with some of Stevenson's finest-drawn characters, many based on historical characters - the wily Alan Breck, the enigmatic Lord Advocate Grant, the sinister master of Lovar, as well as James More, the son of Rob Roy and one of the most notorious rogues in Scottish history, and his beautiful daughter, Catriona.