Robert de Bruce, scion of one of the most noble houses in Scotland, is propelled into rebellion by the "Hammer of the Scots." Edward Plantagenet, king of England, who uses Scotland's inherently unstable clan system to seize power and claim the disunited country as his own.

Robert de Bruce, having taken up the crown of Scotland to free his nation from English rule, finds that his throne will be but a figment of his imagination unless he brings the anti-Bruce Magnates and bishops under his peace. Half of Scotland wants him dead, and most of the rest don't care. He and his small, rag-tag army are alone, under death warrants, and ex-communicated by the Pope. How can they survive the long cold winter?

Using guerilla warfare, Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, has been successfully keeping England's army, the most powerful in the European world, from taking over all of Scotland. In June 1313 Robert returns to the mainland after his success in capturing the Isle of Man only to discover that his brother, Lord Edward Bruce, has made a bargain with the Scottish warden of English-held Castle Stirling: if the English do not relieve the castle by mid-summer 1314, the warden will hand Stirling over to the Scots. Robert is furious Now, King Edward has reason to invade Scotland in force. Elated, the English king sees the agreement as a way to reclaim his dwindling power at home. He uses the time to strengthen his ties with his magnates and draw in the best knights from across Europe with promises of lands, titles, and wealth... once the battle is won. The next June, King Edward brings north 2,500 barded knights and 20,000 men-at-arms to a place called Bannok, and a nearby stream called Bannok Burn. His train "in good order" stretches 20 miles. King Robert has no barded knights and only 5,500 men-at-arms, most of whom are armed with long spears. His only advantages are his cunning, Scots courage, and his arrival at the battlefield before the English. Far from the supposed goal of capturing Castle Stirling or the Scottish crown, Robert knows the battle at Bannok Burn is for Scotland herself.