A member of the ancient landowning Irish nobility, Redmond O'Hanlon is swept up in the Rebellion of 1641 which sought unsuccessfully the return of lands confiscated from traditional chieftains. He flees to France, serves with distinction in both the French and Spanish armies at war in Flanders, and returns to Ireland expecting the restitution of his family's lands by the restored King Charles II. Disappointed, he takes to the hills and woods of southern Ulster, the leader of a band of outlaws, famed as far as France for his daring exploits and his bold flaunting of attempts by the English government in Ireland to capture him and "rid the country of this most cunning and notorious challenge to their authority."