Claire Beauchamp and her husband of eight years, Frank Randall, are on vacation in Inverness in Scotland, a second honeymoon that they hope will allow them to reconnect after being separated for years during World War II. Claire had been a nurse while Frank had been in Officers Training and a part of the Intelligence Unit at M16; however, Claire is unclear what Frank actually did in the war. Frank is a historian and professor who has recently accepted a permanent position at Oxford University. While admiring a vase in a shop window, Claire reflects that Oxford will be the couple’s “first real home” (16). The couple are trying to have a baby.

Frank is deeply interested in Scottish history. While in Inverness, Frank researches an ancestor, Jack Randall. Upon seeing blood stains at the doorsteps of several local homes, Frank ascertains that the blood is part of an old superstitious house-cleansing ritual in the Scottish Highlands.

One evening, Frank meets a local historian about the history of the area while Claire stays home. A storm picks up. When Frank returns home, he reveals that he thinks he just saw a ghost—a strapping man dressed in a customary Scottish kilt.