Richie is on the run, being blamed for murders in which he had no part. He arrives at the barge and is taken in by a sympathetic Mac, who seems to recall something similar from his own past. Martin Hyde is an Immortal with a taste for the Quickenings of older, seasoned Immortals. He has no time for younger Immortals, choosing instead to chase them back to their teachers so he can challenge them.
Mac didn't fall for the ploy in his own youth, but Richie leads Hyde directly to Mac. Richie is arrested for murder and put in the pokey, so Duncan has to find a way to prove Richie's innocence and keep his own head at the same time.
Fortunately, Duncan has a slightly twisted mind and shows up at a duel with Hyde unarmed. The cops arrive on the scene and shoot Hyde "dead". Hyde's sword proves that Richie is innocent. But Hyde is still after Duncan, who meets him in a real duel and beheads him.
Duncan and Richie meet at the appointed time and place to share a bottle of cognac, given to Duncan in 1700 by his friend Segur, just before Segur's own fatal meeting with Hyde.
Questions:
1. "I believe the future is only the past again, entered through another gate." (Pinero) Duncan's life is proof of this. Discuss.
2. The Quickening of an older Immortal is more succulent, tasty and fulfilling than that of a youthful Immortal. Do the actions of Immortals other than Martin Hyde bear this out?
3. Duncan did not lead Hyde to Connor, but Richie did lead Hyde to Duncan. What does this say about the relative maturity and intelligence of Duncan and Richie?
4. If Richie's hair and pants were on a par with Duncan's hair and pants, would this episode have had a different ending?
5. The character Segur is a most attractive Immortal. Compare and contrast him to another attractive Immortal. Fitzcairn, for instance.