David makes a statement to a lawyer and goes on to meet William Grant of Prestongrange, the Lord Advocate of Scotland, to press the case for James' innocence.

However, his attempts fail, as after being reunited with Alan Breck he is once again kidnapped, and held on the Bass Rock, an island prison in the Firth of Forth, until the trial is over, and James is condemned to death.

James More eventually arrives and proves something of a disappointment, drinking a great deal and showing no compunction against living off David's largesse.

They all meet one evening at a remote inn and discover the following day that James More has betrayed Alan (who has faced trial in absentia and been wrongfully convicted of the Appin Murder) into the hands of a Royal Navy warship anchored near the shore.

The characters of Alan Breck Stewart, Lord William Grant Prestongrange, James of the Glens, James MacGregor Drummond (Rob Roy's eldest son), the 3rd duke of Argyll, Simon Fraser of Lovat, Prophet Peden and Hugh Palliser were real people and the frigate HMS Seahorse actually existed.