The story opens in 1751 in the small town of Essendean in the Scottish lowlands. Seventeen-year-old David Balfour, the novel’s narrator and protagonist, has recently lost his father and is left without family or prospects. The local minister tells him that his father’s dying wish was for David to go to an estate called Shaws outside of Edinburgh. He called it “the place [he] came from” (5), and he left a letter for David to take to the lord there, his uncle Ebenezer Balfour.

David was unaware his family had any association with the landed gentry of Scotland. The minister prays for David, embraces him with affection, and gives him some gifts to aid in his journey. His future suddenly looking brighter, David takes a last look back on Essendean before setting off.

After two days of walking, David begins asking about Shaws and is troubled to find people are surprised when he mentions the name. Inquiring further, he finds that even though Shaws is well known, Ebenezer has a terrible reputation and is indeed thought of as “nae kind of man at all” (11). Upset and ashamed that his uncle is so poorly regarded, David almost turns back but decides to push on until he can judge things for himself.