This is a book about one of those Scots who were forbidden at the time from serving in their own army as they were Roman Catholic. As a consequence he is one of many such people from Scotland who served in various European armies. In his case he ended up in a very senior position in the Russian army as an officer who served with great distinction. The book looks at these adventures from a religious as well as a heraldic aspect, as it works through parts of Patrick Gordon's life in these countries which include Sweden, Poland and Russia in the 17th Century.