With the coming of James I to the English throne, as successor to Elizabeth, the union of England and Scotland was at last effected—outwardly at least—although the inner cementing required a generation or two longer. The story of Nigel and his fortunes is really a story of life in general, during the early years of the Scotch King's reign, as well as a careful portrait of the monarch himself.
Nigel Olifaunt, a young Scotch nobleman who has succeeded to his father's title of Lord Glenvarloch, with very little of an estate to bolster up his name, comes to London to press a claim owed by King James himself. His servant, Monoplies, gets into a street brawl and is brought into the watchmaking shop of David Ramsay. The latter's friend, George Heriot, the King's jeweler, thus learns of Nigel's presence in the city, and having been a friend of the young lord's father, he visits Nigel and lends him money to make a proper appearance at court. Heriot's good offices do not end here, for he lays the case before the King, who promises a part settlement of the claim. Heriot also invites Nigel to a dinner at his home, where the Scot meets Margaret Ramsay, the pretty daughter of the watchmaker …
