Drums of Autumn

In 1767, Jamie and Claire Fraser arrive in the American colonies after stops at Charleston and Wilmington. Fergus, Marsali and young Ian travel with them. The family settles on a land grant in the North Carolina foothills, far from the Scotland they left behind.

Early on, Jamie makes a decision that sets the plot moving: he helps the pirate Stephen Bonnet escape a hanging. That act will bring trouble to the family down the line.

A second strand runs in 1969, in Inverness and Boston. Brianna Randall has lost her mother to the standing stones. A historical record suggests her parents may be in danger, so she decides to travel back in time to reach them. The historian Roger Wakefield goes through the stones after her.

This is the fourth novel in the Outlander series. It alternates between colonial wilderness and the twentieth century, blending historical adventure, romance and time travel. Frontier settlement life runs alongside a search that crosses centuries.