James Grant's Playing with Fire opens on a deceptively tranquil Scottish summer, where Captain Roland Lindsay returns from Egypt and the Soudan to Merlwood and finds himself face to face with his cousin Hester Maule beside the Esk. Their easy talk conceals a painful imbalance: Hester has long loved Roland, while he, handsome, soldierly, and self-possessed, seems almost carelessly affectionate, unaware of how deeply he wounds her. Against the serenity of the countryside and the refined atmosphere of Sir Harry Maule's home, the novel begins to expose a story of misread feelings, family ties, and love that may never be openly spoken. Beneath that emotional tension lies a harsher conflict. Roland's return is shadowed by the injustice of his father's will, which left Earlshaugh under the control of his stepmother and her crafty adviser, Hawkey Sharpe, forcing him to confront the possibility of fighting for what is rightfully his. Grant then expands the drama into danger and survival, recalling Roland's brutal service in the Sudan and a catastrophic battle at Kashgate. Even back in Scotland, he is tested again when a mist-shrouded walk leads him over the edge into Burn Cleugh, where he is left injured, alone, and at the mercy of the storm. As Roland struggles for life, Hawkey quietly recognizes him and chooses not to help, instead imagining how his rival's disappearance might serve his greed and ambition. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.
