In thirteenth century Scotland, the death of King Alexander III leads to an invasion by King Edward I of England, a.k.a. Edward “Longshanks.” A Scottish boy named William Wallace is spared from the fighting, but his father and brother are killed. Wallace goes on a journey through Europe with his Uncle Argyle. He gets an education, and when he returns to Scotland as a young man, he is married in a secret ceremony to his childhood sweetheart, Murron MacClannough. Later, English soldiers attack and try to rape Murron, but Wallace saves her. She defends herself in yet another attack, which leads to her arrest and execution. To avenge her death, Wallace organizes a group of fighters to attack the English soldiers stationed in his hometown. Longshanks hears of the uprising and instructs his heir, Prince Edward, to retaliate. Wallace organizes a mass rebellion against the occupying English. The Scots win at the Battle of Stirling, and Wallace teams up with nobleman Robert the Bruce, whose father, Robert the Elder, aspires for his son to win the Scottish crown. Meanwhile, Longshanks sends Prince Edward’s wife, Princess Isabella of France, to divert Wallace with negotiation talks. She develops a romantic interest in him, instead, and reveals that more English troops are set to invade. Wallace mobilizes Scottish nobles and Robert the Bruce to fight back. However, Robert the Bruce betrays the Scots by aligning with Longshanks. He later regrets the decision and promises to fight on behalf of the Scottish from now on. Wallace murders Lochlan and Mornay, two noblemen who betrayed him by taking bribes from Longshanks. He launches a seven-year-long campaign against the English, with the aid of Isabella. She engages in a secret affair with Wallace, and becomes pregnant with his child. After Wallace is taken captive by the English, Isabella taunts a dying Longshanks with the knowledge that she is carrying Wallace’s child. The English court finds Wallace guilty of high treason, and sentences him to torture and beheading. Wallace refuses to utter any words of submission as he is tortured before a crowd. He is told to ask for mercy prior to his beheading, but instead cries out, “Freedom!” Robert the Bruce eventually becomes King of Scotland. In 1314, he is due to accept English rule in a ceremony at Bannockburn in Scotland. There, he uses Wallace’s sword to signal a surprise attack on the English. The resulting Battle of Bannockburn leads to the re-establishment of Scotland’s freedom.