Stevenson's tragic masterpiece unfolds against a hauntingly beautiful Scottish landscape, where the 1745 Jacobite rising is dividing the country against itself. Amidst this outer conflict, one family finds itself devastatingly divided from within, as two brothers discover their opposing loyalties. Their rivalry soon spreads from war to love, as both try to win the hand of a wealthy and beautiful kinswoman.

Through a series of adventures, including seas voyages, piracy, and buried treasure, Stevenson weaves an acutely moving, psychologically complex story of the elemental struggle between good and evil.