THE FIFTH NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING OUTLANDER SERIES. 1771: the Colony of North Carolina stands in an uneasy balance, with the rich, colonial aristocracy on one side and the struggling pioneers of the backcountry on the other.Between them stands Jamie Fraser, a man of honour, a man of worth. Exiled from his beloved Scotland, he is at last possessed of the land he has longed for. By his side his extraordinary wife, Claire, a woman out of time and out of place, blessed with the uneasy gift of the knowledge of what is to come. In the past, that knowledge has brought both danger and deliverance to Jamie and Claire. Now it could be a flickering torch that will light their way through the perilous years ahead - or might ignite a conflagration that will leave their lives in ashes.The Fiery Cross is by turns poignant, page-turning, meticulous in its historical detail and searingly passionate. The long fuse of rebellion has already been lit, the governor calls upon Jamie Fraser to unite the backcountry and preserve the colony for King and Crown. Jamie Fraser's wife, Claire, is a time-traveller, as are his daughter and son-in-law. Jamie Fraser hopes the time-travelers in his family are wrong about the future. But only time will tell.