Paul starts in the hills above Stathpeffer on the waters of Loch Ussie, famous for its connections with the Brahan Seer, who predicted future calamities. Here he meets musician Lauren MacColl, who found inspiration in the legend of the seer. On a golf course above Strathpeffer, Paul discovers an unlikely connection between the conventional old spa town below and the wickedest man in the world, Aleister Crowley. In a nearby wood, the mysterious traditions of a clootie well are revealed to Paul by a member of the travelling community. On the shores of the Cromarty Firth, Paul visits a folly on a hill and discovers an ancient Pictish carved stone. At Tain, the oldest royal burgh in Scotland, he learns to blow glass before heading for the Dornoch Firth where he encounters a witch and a fairy bridge.