The bitter rivalry between two brothers, James and Henry Durie, unfolds against the backdrop of the Jacobite rising and its aftermath. Driven by conflicting moral codes and the inheritance of the Ballantrae estate, the brothers find their lives irrevocably altered by the choices made during the 1745 rebellion. James, the charismatic and manipulative elder brother, and Henry, the stoic and dutiful younger, engage in a protracted conflict that spans continents and decades. The narrative is presented through the perspective of Ephraim Mackellar, the family steward, who documents the disintegration of the Durie family with clinical observation. The story operates within a framework of moral ambiguity, where the physical constraints of the Scottish landscape and the logical constraints of honor and debt dictate the characters' movements.

Readers and critics frequently highlight the psychological depth of the conflict between the two brothers as the primary driver of the narrative. Discussion often centers on the effectiveness of the steward's perspective in maintaining a sense of detachment while documenting the family's slow decline. The pacing is noted for its deliberate, methodical progression, which mirrors the long-standing resentment festering between the characters. Many observers point to the stark atmosphere and the bleak, inevitable nature of the tragedy as defining features of the work. The balance between historical context and character-driven drama remains a frequent topic of analysis for those examining the author's later works.