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The story begins with Robert the Bruce, along with other prominent Scottish nobles, meeting with Edward I to accept him as their king in around 1306the early 1300s. They had already led a rebellion that was unsuccessful, where Edward I, Hammer of the Scots, had earned his nickname by winning against the Scots. Robert still wants to be king, as his family has ancient lineage to the thrown of Scotland, but other claimants exist for the Scottish throne and none of them are in position to attack the English due to their strength and English possession of many key areas of Scotland. John Comyn was another Scottish noble who also had perhaps just an equal or maybe even stronger claim to the Scottish throne.<ref>For more on the period before and the beginning of the Scottish rebellions against Edward I, see: Traquair, P. (1998). <i>Freedom’s sword: Scottland’s wars of Independence</i>. London: HarperCollins. </ref>

William Wallace is the last major Scottish figure not to accept Edward I as king. Eventually, after several years of being on the run and hiding in the highlands and other regions, William is killed. This is shown in the movie as inspiring rebellion against the English, that the death of Wallace somehow triggers a nationalist rage that sparks Robert to begin to plot to take back Scotland. As the Bruce begins to plot the rebellion, he meets with Comyn in Greyfriars church. However, the two quickly make their own claims to the throne of Scotland and Comyn does not show willingness to side with the Bruce against Edward I. This leads to Robert the Bruce striking and later Comyn dies, which leads to the Bruce being excommunicated but being absolved by the Scottish church leaders as they promoted the rebellion. Six weeks later, Bishop William de Lamberton crowned the Bruce King of the Scots at Scone, which was the traditional place that Scottish kings were crownedeven though it was near an English garrison. However, despite this, many Scottish nobles did not join his rebellion and he was betrayed, which almost led to his capture but he escaped with a few followers. In fact, at the Battle of Methven where the . The Bruce and his army was almost destroyed, in a night attack that had them unprepared as Aymer de Valence defeated him in a surprise attack. After this, the Bruce may have spent the winter of 1306-1307 in the Hebridesafter successfully escaping. His wife, Elizabeth de Burgh, was went into hiding in Kildrummy Castle after this battle, but she was captured after a siege of the castle that was guarded by Robert the Bruce's brother (Niall Bruce). After the castle fell, Niall Bruce was executed.<ref>For more on the events at around the time of the Battle of Methven, see: Saunders, C. J., Le Saux, F. H. M., & Thomas, N. (Eds.). (2004). <i>Writing war: medieval literary responses to warfare</i>. Cambridge ; Rochester, N.Y: D.S. Brewer, pg. 107. </ref>

From that time on, Robert the Bruce had realized to defeat the English he would have to conduct a mostly guerrilla war. This proved to be a very successful and strategy as he began to have some success in attacking the English in places they did not expect. When he did next meet the English in battle, he wanted to choose the ground where the battle would be. In May 1307, the advantage point for him was at Loudoun hillHill, a place that was trapped on either side by marshes. While the Bruce was aware of this, the English were not. They saw his small army that was poorly equipped as an opportunity to destroy him and they fell into his trap. They The Bruce and his forces had also produced made trenches that restricted English movements to areas that were prepared with spears. Robert the Bruce was attacked by Aymer de Valence, once again, but this time he had made conditions perfect for his Scottish victory, which he was able to take.<ref>For more on Aymer de Valence, see: Phillips, J. R. S. (1972). <i>Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324: baronial politics in the reign of Edward II</i>. Oxford: Clarendon Press. </ref>

While the movie ends there, it is clear that this was a turning point. Soon after this battle, Edward II took over England from his father after he had died and he was far less able to fight the Scots effectively. After more successful operations by the Bruce and the major defeat of the English at the Battle of Bannockburn, where once again Robert the Bruce had to use creative tactics to makeup for his inferior numbers, the Scots were effectively broken free from the Englsh. After that time, it was Robert the Bruce who launched invasions on the English and was later recognized as the Scottish king by Edward II's successor, Edward III.<ref>For more on Edward II, see: Warner, K. (2015). <i>Edward II: the unconventional king</i>. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley.</ref>