Content Warning: The source text and this guide discuss misogyny and xenophobia, physical and sexual violence (including rape), suicide, and ableist language.

A young woman named Roscille journeys from Brittany to Scotland to marry Macbeth, the Thane (lord) of Glammis, as part of a political allegiance with Roscille’s father, Wrybeard, the Duke of Brittany. Macbeth and Wrybeard’s coats of arms are the unicorn and the ermine, respectively. As a power game, Macbeth has requested that Roscille and her maid, Hawise, travel in disguise as each other. Roscille notices the changing landscape and the way her name changes in different languages.

Wrybeard’s affluent court is part of a treacherous and violent geopolitical landscape. Roscille was valuable to her father: She is fluent in many languages and skilled at observing people. Growing up, her otherworldly beauty unnerved people, and rumors began that her eyes caused “madness” or that she was a witch. To counter this, her father created his own story—that she was only cursed by a witch—and kept her veiled. Roscille no longer feels loyalty to her father, as he has used her as a pawn, so she does not plan to send him useful information about Macbeth.