comment on setting

The novel opens in the 1900s and stays there only briefly. It changes after a few chapters to continue the story in the highlands of Scotland in the year 1745. Claire is transported back in time by touching a standing stone near the outskirts of the city. The story is set predominately in the year 1743 and the Castle Leoch, which is where Claire resides during her stay with the clansmen. The castle is run by the MacKenzie brothers, who hesitantly take Claire in at first. The castle is large and grand, but also gloomy, filled with dark rooms and with a musky air about it.