HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. `I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both; and I believe they both get paid in the end; but the fools first.` Orphaned as a young teenager, Lowlander David Balfour`s only relative is his guardian and uncle, Ebenezer. Ill-thought of and disliked by many, it`s not long before Ebenezer betrays his nephew and David finds himself trapped aboard a ship. He soon strikes up a friendship with fugitive stranger and Scottish Highlander Alan Breck and becomes embroiled in the fierce Jacobite struggle against English rule. A tale of high-seas adventure, loyalty and fighting, the complex relationship between Alan and David stops Stevenson`s novel from becoming `just` a boys adventure novel.