An Echo in the Bone

An Echo in the Bone (2009) is the seventh novel in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Combining elements of the historical fiction, adventure, fantasy, magical realism, and romance genres, the series follows the adventures of Claire Randall, a WWII battle nurse who accidentally time travels to 18th-century Scotland and falls in love with Jamie Fraser, a Highland warrior. Over the course of 10 planned novels, Gabaldon follows Claire, Jamie, and their family as they navigate fate and supernatural forces, struggle to define their places in history, and cling to the enduring and redemptive power of love. The first installment of the internationally bestselling series was published in 1991.The Outlander series is complemented by several novellas, a graphic novel, and a spin-off series of novels about the character Lord John Grey. In 2013, the Starz network adapted the Outlander series for television.

Gabaldon is known for her extensive research and commitment to historical accuracy. Other works by this author include Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, and A Breath of Snow and Ashes.

This guide references the 2011 Dell Mass Market Paperback edition of the novel.

Please be advised that An Echo in the Bone depicts instances of self-harm and sexual assault and includes offensive depictions of Indigenous American Peoples. In keeping with the source text, this guide uses the term “Mohawk” to refer to the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka people. It is important to note that “Mohawk” is a term created by Dutch colonists in North America.

Plot Summary

An Echo in the Bone takes place in both the 18th and 20th centuries, in Scotland and colonial America, with chapters alternating between various timelines and locations. The narration features traditional action, letters, historical records, and excerpts of other writings produced by Gabaldon’s characters.

In 1776, Claire and Jamie Fraser and their nephew Ian Murray survive the burning of their farmhouse on Fraser’s Ridge in North Carolina. Jamie suspects that their former factor, Arch Bug, is searching for hidden Jacobite gold in the ruins of the house. While attempting to apprehend Arch, Ian accidentally kills Arch’s wife, Murdina Bug. At Murdina’s funeral, Arch swears vengeance but declares that he will wait until Ian has “something worth taking” (64). Claire and Jamie decide to travel to Scotland to retrieve Jamie’s printing press and take Ian home to Lallybroch, hoping the visit will help assuage his guilt.

William Ransom, the 19-year-old Earl of Ellesmere, accepts an intelligence assignment from the British Captain Ezekiel Richardson on his way to join General Howe’s forces in New York. William is unaware that Jamie is secretly his biological father. William was raised by Lord John Grey, his uncle by marriage and a long-time friend of Jamie’s, for whom John has unrequited romantic feelings. John and Jamie’s friendship is complicated by Jamie’s status as an ex-Jacobite traitor and pardoned criminal turned American revolutionary. William is eager to prove himself in battle, and John both encourages and cautions him. Percy Beauchamp—John’s former lover, now a French agent—visits John and inquires about Jamie.

In 1980 at Lallybroch—the ancestral Fraser estate near Inverness, Scotland—Jamie and Claire’s daughter Brianna “Bree” MacKenzie and her husband Roger MacKenzie readjust to life in the 20th Century. They returned to their original time to provide their daughter, Mandy, with a life-saving surgery. Bree and Roger discover a box of letters from Jamie and Claire. The first letter explains that Jamie has hidden the Jacobite gold in the “Spaniard’s Cave,” a secret location known only to Jem, their eight-year-old son. Roger, a talented musician and historian, struggles to define his sense of purpose after he almost died by hanging in the 18th Century and lost his ability to sing. He abandoned ordination as a Presbyterian minister because he no longer believes in predestination after time-travelling.

In the 18th century, Claire, Jamie and Ian visit Jamie’s adopted son and stepdaughter, Fergus and Marsali Fraser, and look for a ship to Scotland. Percy Beauchamp tries to locate Jamie and Fergus because he believes Fergus is the lost heir to the fortune of the Comte St. Germain. Percy wants Fergus to claim his inheritance to fund the American Revolution. Jamie and Fergus avoid Percy because they do not trust him. Lord John Grey travels to England and tries to uncover Percy’s motives and learn more about Richardson. William experiences his first battle but fails to distinguish himself or advance his military career. While in England, John receives a letter from William declaring his desire to marry Dottie Grey, John’s niece, and requesting that John bring Dottie with him when he returns to America. John suspects the cousins have a secret plot.

In 1980, Bree takes a job as a safety inspector at the local hydroelectric company. On her first day, Bree is hazed by her coworker Rob Cameron, who locks her in a dark tunnel. Bree finds an electric train in the tunnel and drives it safely to the worksite but passes through what may be a time portal on the way. Roger slowly establishes a life in Scotland, working as assistant choirmaster at a local church, teaching a community class on Gaelic, and connecting to the history of Lallybroch. Roger and Bree read Jamie and Claire’s letters to maintain connection to family. Jem and Mandy report seeing a “Nuckelavee,” a kind of Scottish demon, at Lallybroch.

In 1777, Claire, Jamie, and Ian sail for Scotland on a smuggling ship. A British captain attempts to press Jamie, Ian, and the ship’s crew into service with the British Navy, and a sea battle ensues. In the aftermath, Jamie takes a short contract with the Continental army and Claire and Ian travel with him to Fort Ticonderoga. Ian soon leaves to visit his ex-wife Emily, a Mohawk woman. Ian and Emily were unable to have children, but Emily now has several with her new husband. Ian finds a sick and injured William in the wilderness, who became lost while on another intelligence mission for Richardson. Ian leaves William in the care of Rachel and Denny Hunter, who are Quakers. Denny is a doctor who plans to join the Continental army as a surgeon. Ian visits Emily and achieves closure in their relationship. The Hunters go to Fort Ticonderoga, where they befriend Jamie, Claire, and Ian. William joins General Burgoyne’s staff in Canada. On the way, William meets Arch Bug, who is tracking Ian.

After the British take Fort Ticonderoga, General Burgoyne’s forces pursue the fleeing Continental army. During the chase, Ian falls in love with Rachel Hunter. In a skirmish, Jamie unknowingly shoots William’s hat off his head, nearly killing his own son. When the retreating Americans reach the main Continental army, General Burgoyne must surrender. As a condition of the surrender, Jamie must take the body of Simon Fraser—a British general and his second cousin—back to Scotland. Meanwhile, John visits the Baron Amandine in France and meets Benjamin Franklin. He is frustrated in his search for information about Richardson and grows worried for William. John and Dottie travel to Philadelphia, where John discovers Dottie’s brother, Henry, a British solider, is badly wounded.

Jamie, Claire, and Ian travel to Lallybroch to visit Jamie’s sister Jenny and her husband, the elder Ian, who is dying of consumption. Jenny encourages Young Ian to return to America and marry Rachel. Jamie visits his ex-wife, Laoghaire, whom he married during a 20-year period of separation from Claire. Laoghaire’s daughter Joan wants to become a nun but will not leave Laoghaire alone with her new lover out of fear they will have premarital sex. Claire agrees to return to America and cure Henri-Christian—Marsali’s son and Laoghaire’s grandson—if Laoghaire will marry her lover, give up claim to alimony from Jamie, and allow Joan to become a nun. Claire and Jamie are separated for the first time in several years as she and Ian sail to America. Jamie stays in Scotland to support Jenny through the elder Ian’s death; afterwards, Jenny asks to go to America with Jamie. Meanwhile, Percy tells John why he is searching for Fergus.

In 1980, Roger’s ancestor William Buccleigh “Buck” MacKenzie accidentally time travels to Lallybroch from the 18th century; he is the “Nuckelavee” Jem and Mandy have seen. While Bree and Roger try to help Buck, Bree’s coworker Rob Cameron abducts Jem. Rob stole Jamie’s letter and wants the hidden Jacobite gold. Roger and Buck time travel through the ancient standing stones in Inverness, believing Rob has taken Jem back in time. However, Rob appears to Bree in 1980 and demands that she make Jem reveal the location of the gold. Jem, locked alone in the same hydroelectric tunnel as Bree was before, finds the train and drives it toward the possible time portal.

In Philadelphia, 1778, Claire successfully performs surgery on Henri-Christian and John’s nephew Henry, with the aid of Denny Hunter. Denny Hunter is revealed as Dottie’s secret lover, and they are soon engaged. John learns that Jamie’s ship to America has sunk with no survivors, and that Richardson plans to arrest Claire as a spy. John hastily marries Claire to protect her, and they have sex out of their unbearable grief over Jamie. However, Jamie and Jenny sailed on a different ship than planned and arrive safely in America. Arch Bug threatens Rachel, knowing Ian loves her; Ian protects Rachel as William shoots and kills Arch. Despite the incompatibility of Ian’s adopted Mohawk identity and Rachel’s Quaker faith, Rachel tells Ian she loves him, too. Jamie and William arrive at John and Claire’s home at the same time, and William realizes Jamie is his real father due to their uncanny resemblance. British soldiers arrive to arrest Jamie, who takes John hostage and flees the city.