Maître Pierre, the eccentric old merchant who has taken Quentin Durward under his protection, takes the young Scot to an inn. There, irritated by the welcome he received on his arrival in France, Quentin does not hesitate to criticize the methods of Louis XI's government. Maître Pierre orders him to keep quiet. At the inn, Quentin notices a beautiful stranger who seems terrorized. Is she being held prisoner? She begs the young man not to find out her name. Both their lives are at stake.