The only thing James wants is to remain away from Scotland. One day, however, he receives a fax, a printout of an unknown person's obituary. The next day, he is charged and arrested for the murder of this person.

A young girl lives in the Outer Hebrides in a small village in the years just before WWI. Isolated and hard by the shore, her life takes a dramatic change when a terrible tragedy befalls her.

While visiting the island of Skua, reliable Tim and his blind sister Janey are joined by a waif-like "witch" named Perdita in an effort to foil a gang of jewel thieves.