The summer of 1679 is a dark one for the Covenanters, routed by government troops at the Battle of Bothwell Brig. John Steel is on the run, hunted for his part in the battle by the vindictive Earl of Airlie. And life is no easier for the hapless Sandy Gillon, curate of Lesmahagow Kirk, in the Earl’s sights for aiding John Steel’s escape.

Outlawed and hounded, the surviving rebels have no choice but to take to the hills and moors to evade capture and deportation. And as a hard winter approaches, Marion Steel discovers she’s pregnant with her third child.

Dark Times is the second part of Ethyl Smith’s sweeping Times series that follows the lives of ordinary people in extraordinary times.

Scotland, 1685

With Monmouth and Argyll planning to overthrow James VII and II, the Covenanters see an opportunity to further their own cause, but dissent among the faithful causes factions to start appearing.

As tensions heighten and rumours of an invasion spread, John Steele must continue to evade capture in an ever-tightening net.

From the shepherds and the farmer's wives of the Lanarkshire hills, to the innkeepers, the apothecaries and the washerwomen of the towns, Ethyl Smith portrays with exquisite detail the lives of the ordinary men and women of 17th century Scotland.

The summer of 1679 is a dark one for the Covenanters, routed by government troops at the Battle of Bothwell Brig. John Steel is on the run, hunted for his part in the battle by the vindictive Earl of Airlie. And life is no easier for the hapless Sandy Gillon, curate of Lesmahagow Kirk, in the Earl’s sights for aiding John Steel’s escape.

Outlawed and hounded, the surviving rebels have no choice but to take to the hills and moors to evade capture and deportation. And as a hard winter approaches, Marion Steel discovers she’s pregnant with her third child.

Dark Times is the second part of Ethyl Smith’s sweeping Times series that follows the lives of ordinary people in extraordinary times.

Scotland, 1685

With Monmouth and Argyll planning to overthrow James VII and II, the Covenanters see an opportunity to further their own cause, but dissent among the faithful causes factions to start appearing.

As tensions heighten and rumours of an invasion spread, John Steele must continue to evade capture in an ever-tightening net.

From the shepherds and the farmer's wives of the Lanarkshire hills, to the innkeepers, the apothecaries and the washerwomen of the towns, Ethyl Smith portrays with exquisite detail the lives of the ordinary men and women of 17th century Scotland.