The Fiery Cross

The love story between Claire Beauchamp and Jamie Fraser lies at the heart of the novels in the Outlander series. In the first book, Outlander, Claire travels through time, arriving in Scotland in 1743. There, she meets and falls in love with Jamie, revealing to him that she comes from the future. Although Claire was married to a 20th century man named Frank Randall, she and Jamie realize that they are soulmates. They face dangers and adventures in Scotland and later, France, in the second book, Dragonfly in Amber. Fergus, who appears in The Fiery Cross, is French and becomes part of Jamie and Claire’s household during this time. Jamie and Claire work diligently to attempt to prevent the 1746 Battle of Culloden, in which many Scottish Highlanders were killed, because they believe that Jamie is fated to die in that battle. Eventually, Jamie convinces Claire, who is pregnant, to travel back to the 20th century so that she can raise their child in safety after his death. Claire returns to 1948, where she reunites with Frank, gives birth to Brianna, and eventually trains as a doctor.

Jamie survives the Battle of Culloden; however, he lives as a fugitive and is devastated to be parted from Claire. The third novel, Voyager, describes the many obstacles Jamie faces in the wake of Culloden. He eventually becomes a prisoner at Ardsmuir, where he forges deep bonds with many of the men who appear in The Fiery Cross as minor characters.

Jamie also begins a friendship with a man named Lord John Grey, to whom he writes several letters over the course of The Fiery Cross. Later, during his time as an indentured servant at Helwater Estate, Jamie is blackmailed into sleeping with a wealthy young woman; she conceives a child, William Ransom, whom Lord John Grey adopts. Once he is free, Jamie tries to establish a new life for himself, marrying a widowed woman named Laoghaire, who has two daughters. The marriage is unhappy, and they part ways, although Jamie continues to support Laoghaire financially. The Fiery Cross contains references to this arrangement, and Marsali, Laoghaire’s daughter, also appears in the novel, grown and married to Fergus, with children of her own.

In Voyager, Claire returns voluntarily to the 18th century after having realized that Jamie is likely still alive there. She leaves her now-grown daughter, Brianna, in the 20th century. Jamie and Claire reunite, vowing never to separate again. They travel to North America to rescue Jamie’s beloved nephew, Ian. Claire and Jamie establish Fraser’s Ridge in North Carolina, and the fourth novel, Drums of Autumn, describes them settling into a new life. In the 20th century, Brianna learns that her parents will die in a fire in North Carolina and decides to travel back to the 18th century to warn them; Roger, a 20th-century man who has fallen in love with her, follows her.

Brianna is happy to reunite with her mother and meet her father for the first time, but shortly after her arrival, Stephen Bonnet rapes her and she becomes pregnant. Meanwhile, she and Roger are estranged after a confusing series of events, and Roger becomes a captive of a local Indigenous community. Roger has encounters with several characters who reappear in The Fiery Cross, including his ancestor Morag MacKenzie and her husband, William Buccleigh MacKenzie. Eventually, Jamie, Claire, and Ian rescue Roger, but Ian volunteers to take Roger’s place. For most of The Fiery Cross, Ian seems unlikely to ever return; he is greatly missed, and Roger feels guilty over his absence.