The movie begins in 1304, outside the besieged Stirling Castle in Scotland. King Edward of
England was appointed to choose the Scottish heir when the Scottish King died, but instead,
he seized power and brutally occupied the country. The Scots rebelled, led by Sir William Wallace,
but he was defeated at the Battle of Falkirk and went into hiding, leaving the English
with the upper hand in the fight against their northern neighbor's attempt at independence. Many
Scottish lords decided to submit again to English rule with no other choice.
Robert Bruce, his rival John Comyn, and other Scottish nobility reluctantly swear
allegiance to King Edward of England. Their lands confiscated during their
revolution are now returned to the lords. King Edward appointed a viceroy to lead a
new council of Scottish administration, whom Robert and John would serve under.
As the noblemen begin to depart, Robert is challenged to a friendly duel by the
English King's son, Edward the Second, whom he halfheartedly fights. The duel
is stopped when the Prince is summoned by his father to answer the petitioner's requests.
When one Scotsman, James Douglas, petitions the King to return his family's lands and titles,
Edward the First refuses because his father was a traitor. All are then invited to watch
as Edward the First seals the treaty with the Scots by launching Greek fire at the nearby
castle and telling his commanders to accept the fortress's surrender.
During the evening feast, the King gives Robert the hand of Elizabeth de Burgh,
an Irish noblewoman whose father is a close friend and ally to Edward the First. With Robert Sr.'s
encouragement, Robert halfheartedly accepts. His father tells him that having the King's favor is
essential, and he believes that he will eventually be offered the crown as promised by the King.
Back home, Robert and his father deal with the realities of their submission, and Elizabeth
soon arrives. They are introduced to each by the Prince, and she warmly greets Robert's daughter,
Marjorie, who introduces her to Jessie, her dog. Soon after, they are officially married,
but Robert respectfully delays the consummation. As the months go by, Elizabeth slowly begins to
warm up to Robert and Marjorie while the strain of England's rule takes its toll on the common folk,
as they must compensate for the rebellion. The King's men arrive to find men who can fight,
as they are obliged by their agreement with him. A soldier grabs a young boy as his mother protests
that he is yet of age to fight. Elizabeth uses her title to stop them from taking the young boy.
One night, Robert's father recounted stories from his youth when he fought alongside King
Edward in the Crusades and, despite believing him to be a friend, ultimately regrets trusting
him. Robert's father then passes away shortly afterward, making him the new lord of Annandale.
Sometime later, in 1305, Robert and his men traveled to the border city of Berwick to deliver
taxes owed to England. After doing so, Robert and his men are swept up in a mob who've gathered
in the marketplace to view the arm of William Wallace, having finally been caught and hanged,
drawn, and quartered. Violence erupts as the people begin to shout and threaten the
English soldiers. Robert watches in horror as the English begin cutting down Scottish
commoners, trying to defend themselves. Returning to his home, Robert tells his
brothers the news of Wallace's execution and his renewed desire to cast off English rule again;
they agree, and so does Elizabeth, who had eavesdropped in their conversation.
Soon, Robert meets Comyn in a church to try and get his support, but the two exchange tense
words. When Comyn shares his intention of informing King Edward of his plans,
Robert draws Comyn's knife from his belt and stabs him in the neck, killing him at the altar.
Afterward, Robert confesses the murder to the Scottish clergy,
who offer him a pardon if he supports the Catholic Church in Scotland. They
will help him as King of Scotland and lead the country against the English.
Robert accepts the offer and will be crowned King in the village of Scone.
In England, Edward the First receives word of Comyn's murder and Robert's crowning,
infuriating him. Prince Edward II pleads with his father to let him prove himself by killing
or capturing Robert, and the King reluctantly agrees. Meanwhile, Robert decides to call
together the Scottish nobles and make his case for a second attempt at independence. While some
nobles side with him, Comwyn's supporters refuse. On their way to Scone, Robert encounters James
Douglas, who pledges his service to Robert in exchange for the promise that his family's
lands and titles will be returned to him. While King Edward knights hundreds of men to
accompany his son, ordering them to ride under the dragon's banner, Robert is crowned King of Scots.
Later, Robert meets in the field with de Valence, brother-in-law to Comyn,
who tries to move against Robert before the Prince arrives. To avoid bloodshed, he challenges de
Valence to single combat, who accepts but delays the duel a day, as it is Sunday.
That night, the Scots celebrate and prepare themselves for battle in a nearby forest. After
Robert and Elizabeth share a quiet moment, they passionately consummate their marriage. Afterward,
they put Marjorie to bed. Robert makes Elizabeth promise that no matter what
happens to him, she will protect his daughter. Hearing strange noises outside their tent,
Robert investigates, and volleys of fire arrows rain down on the Scottish camp. De Valence,
choosing not to hold to their agreement, moved his forces into range and attacked under darkness.
As the English continue their attack, Robert entrusts his brother Neil to escort Elizabeth
and Marjorie to Kildrummy Castle and seek refuge with Lord Fraser, a friend, and ally.
Despite fierce resistance, Robert has escaped the inevitable defeat and runs with only about fifty
of his men still alive. Beaten, bloodied, and desperate, Robert and his men aimlessly wander
the Scottish countryside, eventually deciding to make for the home islands of one of his allies,
Angus MacDonald, hoping to replenish his forces. Along the way, John MacDougall encounters them,
bitter about the murder of his cousin Comyn but allows them to pass by unharmed.
Elsewhere, Neil brings Elizabeth and Marjorie to Lord Fraser's castle, finding some rest from
the quickly deteriorating situation Robert's crowning has created. When Robert and his men
come to a river, they attempt to cross, only to be ambushed by the MacDougalls. In the skirmish,
Robert's brother, Alexander, is impaled by a spear, and his body is left behind
as the outlaw king's forces dwindle further. Eventually, finding their way to the islands,
the small group of soldiers rest and recover, and those who can pledge to join his forces.
Meanwhile, Prince Edward cuts a bloody path through Scotland, mercilessly killing Robert's
supporters and pillaging or capturing towns and villages, including Robert's castle. When
he arrives at Perth, he berates de Valence for letting the outlaw escape and his ineptitude in
tracking him down. Shortly after, a loyal Scottish nobleman arrives and informs the English of the
whereabouts of Elizabeth and Marjorie, and the Prince gathers his men to confront Lord Fraser.
Arriving at Kildrummy, the Prince commands Lord Fraser to hand over Robert's wife and daughter,
or they will attack. While Fraser buys some time by claiming ignorance of their whereabouts,
Neil sneaks Elizabeth and Marjorie outside the walls, telling them to wait and hide in
the forest until he can send men to protect them and spirit them away. After unleashing a hail of
fire arrows into the castle, Lord Fraser offers to open the gates and allow the English entry.
When both Neil and Lord Fraser continue to claim that Elizabeth and Marjorie are not there,
Prince Edward signals his men to approach to show that they've already captured them.
Unhappy with their defiance, the Prince orders Neil to be hanged from the castle
gates and is subsequently disemboweled in front of Elizabeth and Marjorie. He slits
Lord Fraser's throat and orders Robert's wife and daughter to be returned to England as hostages.
On the island, Robert is informed of Neil's execution and his family's capture. With the
desire for revenge burning, the outlaw king returns to the mainland. He continues to
gather resources and allies, eventually concluding that fighting the English
head-on will only result in defeat as his forces are still dwarfed by their enemy.
The Scots decided to launch a campaign of guerrilla warfare, striking English fortifications
in small groups and taking the enemy by surprise. After defeating the garrison at his
castle and setting it ablaze, Robert allows James Douglas to take a handful of men to do the same.
Soon, Douglas infiltrates his family's castle on Palm Sunday. During mass, when most of the
English garrison is praying inside the church, he repeatedly veals himself and chants "Douglas!" as
his men brutally kill their enemies and set fire to the castle before gathering supporters for
his cause and rejoining Robert. Meanwhile, King Edward the First, continues to become increasingly
aware of his frailty and failing health. In England, Marjorie is taken away by a
nun to serve as a glorified hostage at a convent. At the same time,
Elizabeth's parents are brought to her and with her. Prince Edward II attempts to convince her
to sign a document that forsakes Robert, annuls their marriage, and pardons her for her "crimes"
against the crown. When Elizabeth refuses to sign it and laughs at the Prince for his continued
inability to capture her husband, she's thrown in a metal cage and suspended over the walls.
When he receives word of another raid by Robert's forces, King Edward becomes
angered. He decides to muster his army and lead them into Scotland himself, intent on personally
ending the rebellion as he had when he defeated William Wallace at Falkirk almost a decade prior.
On the march, King Edward the First faints and, on his deathbed, instructs his son to boil his body
and carry his bones to every battle he fights against the Scottish. As the King succumbs
to dysentery, the Prince's final words to his father do not love as he mocks him and claims
that his father treated him so poorly because he knew his son was much stronger than himself and
was afraid of that strength. Before leaving his dead father's tent, Edward the Second instructs
his men to bury the late King's body there and now, despite his last request.
As the English draw closer and closer, Robert decides to finally meet them in a pitched battle
rather than continue to run and hide. Despite his men's uncertainty, they choose to put their faith
in their King and go about preparations, choosing a swampy battlefield to meet the English on and
constructing large ditches filled with sharpened stakes to surprise the English heavy cavalry.
Later, James Douglas is tasked with intercepting the Prince and offering
them battle at the designated spot. The two forces meet on the field the next day:
the English numbering in the thousands while Robert's army is barely above five-hundred strong.
Eager to prove himself and secure his position as the new King of England, Edward the Second orders
de Valence and many heavy cavalries to charge Robert's waiting army. The English see the traps
set for them too late, and as both horses and knights fall victim to the stake-lined pits, a
brutal muddy battle ensues. Even after Edward the Second himself enters the war with the remainder
of his men, the Scots continue to cut down Englishmen and soon send them running to retreat.
Once more, Robert and Edward the Second duel, with the former emerging victorious. Battered and
begging for help, Edward the Second is spared by Robert and allowed to retreat with what's
left of his army as the Scottish King claims his first major victory against the English.
James Douglas would earn the nickname "the Black Douglas" and earn his family's lands back,
while Angus MacDonald would be made Lord of the Isles. Edward the Second would
return to England and be made King, only to be murdered by his nobles years later.
The movie ends as Elizabeth is eventually set free in a
prisoner exchange and rejoins Robert and Marjorie, and three-hundred years later,
one of Robert's descendants, James the Sixth, would be crowned King of Scotland and England.