After five years in exile, Lymond has recently returned to Scotland, in defiance of Scottish charges against him for pro-English treason and murder. Lymond has returned with the goal of proving his innocence and restoring his name. His family, the Crawfords, have become entangled in the complex politics between England and Scotland, including the Anglo-Scottish wars, Scotland's alliance with France, and skirmishes in the Borders region. The novel is constructed as an intricate mystery, punctuated by set pieces of adventure, high comedy, and drama. Characters such as Richard Crawford, third Baron Culter and Lymond's older brother, and Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox are one-time friends or intimates of Lymond's who become his mortal enemies. Betrayals and double-crosses, both potential and actual, abound. The pieces of the mystery only fit together late in the story as revelations at a trial. Historical figures appearing in the novel include members of the Scott clan including Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch, his wife, Janet Beaton, and his son William Scott of Kincurd, who becomes Lymond's second-in-command in his band of outlaws; Mary of Guise, the Queen Dowager of Scotland and her young daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots; and members of the Douglas family including Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, his brother Sir George Douglas, his daughter Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (niece of Henry VIII), and Margaret's husband Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, a potential claimant to the Scottish throne if the young Mary, Queen of Scots, died. The English military leaders responsible for prosecuting the war of The Rough Wooing, Sir William Grey and Lord Thomas Wharton, also have prominent, and often comedic, roles. Main fictional characters Francis Crawford of Lymond, Master of Culter Sybilla Crawford, Dowager Baroness Culter Richard Crawford, Third Baron Culter Mariotta Crawford, Baroness Culter Christian Stewart Jonathan Crouch Gideon Somerville Kate Somerville Philippa Somerville Samuel Harvey Main historical characters Mary de Guise, Queen Dowager of Scotland Tom Erskine Walter Scott of Branxholme and Buccleuch His son, William Scott of Kincurd Janet Beaton Main locations Edinburgh, Scotland Stirling, Scotland The Lowlands of Scotland (including the fictional Midculter Castle) Northumbria, England (including the fictional Manor of Flaw Valleys and Hadrian's Wall) Threave Castle, Scotland Queens' Play (1964) Lymond takes on an alias in order to infiltrate the French court and protect the young Mary, Queen of Scots, from her would-be assassins. Main fictional characters Francis Crawford of Lymond, Master