Reviewer Comments: Lily Hamlin travels to Scotland in search of her heritage. She grew up listening to the stories that her Gram told her about her homeland and of the Clan MacMartin to which they belong. Now that Lily has lost her grandmother and her job in Silicon Valley, she is searching for a place where she belongs. The landscape of the Scottish Highlands is just what she needs to soothe her sole and to bring back her artistic dreams. She wanders the hills and looks for places which inspire her to draw. One day, she finds a mysterious labyrinth-like maze and explores it. When she finds an ancient stone carving, Lily traces it only to find herself falling through time. When she awakes, she is in the year 1654 amidst the British and Scottish struggles.
Ewen Cameron is the seventeenth captain and chief of the Clan Cameron. He takes his position and responsibilities very seriously. Ewen lives for the battles with the English and since he already has his heir, doesn’t need to focus on remarrying. Ewen is shocked when he finds Lily beside the road. He doesn’t understand her manner of speech and finds her tales to being from the future difficult to explain. Still, he takes responsibility for her and ensconces her within his keep as a member of his household. She takes over the care and teaching of his son leaving Ewen free to face the challenge of the English parked on his doorstep.
Reading this story, I can tell that Ms. Wolff loves Scotland and all of its history. She shares her passion for the country and her love of the Scottish people on every page. Her descriptions of the countryside made me feel as though I had seen the landscape for myself. I believe that she has researched her topic and makes her story as historically accurate as possible. One can almost imagine that Ms. Wolff wishes she could travel through time and join Ewen and Lily as they have their adventures.
I enjoyed this story despite having to suspend my sense of reality in order to accept that someone from the present can travel back in time. I liked the relationship between Lily and Ewen and the way in which it developed. The relationship was not forced, but rather seemed to evolve as these two people spent time together. Lily comes from a place of loneliness and sadness. She really had no one and nothing in her present time. Ewen has a family, a clan and a keep, but still has a feeling of loneliness about him. These two characters work well together despite being out of time with each other. I guess it just goes to show that true love transcends all.
