Under Loch and Key Summary, Characters and Themes

Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson is a paranormal romance infused with mystery, Scottish folklore, and family secrets. 

When Keyanna “Key” MacKay travels to Scotland after her father’s death, she hopes to reconnect with the family he left behind. Instead, she finds hostility, cryptic warnings, and a rugged Scotsman, Lachlan Greer, who is as infuriating as he is captivating. As she digs into her family’s past, she stumbles upon supernatural forces tied to the legendary Loch Ness. With time running out and a centuries-old curse threatening everything, Key and Lachlan must uncover the truth—before history repeats itself.

Summary

Keyanna “Key” MacKay arrives in the small Scottish village of Greerloch after the death of her father, Duncan MacKay. 

Determined to reconnect with her estranged family, she carries little more than childhood bedtime stories about a mysterious loch and a name—her grandmother, Rhona MacKay. Key’s journey takes an unexpected turn when she encounters Hamish Campbell, a kindhearted shepherd who helps her when her rental car breaks down. But when she visits the treacherous Skallangal Cove, she nearly falls to her death—only to be saved by Lachlan Greer, a brooding local with piercing eyes and a sharp tongue.

Her arrival at MacKay Farm is met with immediate hostility from Rhona, who makes it clear that Key is neither expected nor welcome. However, her grandfather, Finlay (Finn), and cousin, Brodie, offer a warmer reception. 

To earn her keep, Key takes a job as a farmhand under Lachlan’s watchful, if begrudging, supervision. Sparks fly between them, but their relationship is filled with tension—Lachlan harbors his own suspicions about the MacKays, and Key refuses to back down from uncovering the truth about her father’s past.

As Key delves deeper, she discovers letters proving that Duncan had tried to reconnect with his family before his passing—letters Rhona refused to acknowledge. Finn, however, shares old stories Duncan told him, all hinting at something supernatural lurking beneath the waters of the loch. 

Strange occurrences begin to escalate: eerie noises from the cove, cryptic warnings from the locals, and an old diary belonging to Key’s great-grandmother, which speaks of a guardian tied to the loch. 

When Lachlan finally reveals his theory—that the MacKays are the keepers of a mythical creature, possibly the Loch Ness monster—Key is torn between skepticism and the mounting evidence in front of her.

Meanwhile, Brodie grows suspiciously invested in the farm’s future. He hints at offers from outsiders eager to buy the land, raising concerns that he may have ulterior motives. 

When Key and Lachlan stumble upon a hidden underground chamber beneath the farm, they uncover relics suggesting their ancestors were sworn protectors of something ancient and powerful.

As Finn falls seriously ill, tensions in the family reach a breaking point. Rhona remains tight-lipped about the past, but when Key sneaks to the cove again, she has a terrifying encounter—something in the water moves, watches, and responds to her presence. 

Lachlan, furious and afraid, confesses that his father disappeared years ago while investigating the MacKays, and he believes the loch holds the answers.

The truth unravels when Brodie’s betrayal comes to light—he has been in negotiations to sell the farm, disregarding their family’s sworn duty to protect the loch’s secret. In a final confrontation, Key and Lachlan work together to stop Brodie’s plan, cementing their trust in one another. 

As Rhona finally opens up, she reveals that the MacKays have been guardians of the loch’s ancient being for generations, keeping it hidden from those who would exploit its power.

With Brodie cast out, the family begins to heal. Lachlan and Key, no longer adversaries, embrace their growing love, bound by their shared duty. Lachlan finds closure about his father’s fate, choosing to stay in Greerloch and stand beside Key as they take on the legacy together. 

Rhona, once closed off, begins to accept Key as family, while Finn recovers and welcomes the peace that finally settles over them.

In the end, Key no longer feels like an outsider. She has found love, family, and a purpose greater than herself—protecting the loch’s secret, just as her ancestors once did. 

Months later, she and Lachlan remain guardians of the loch, keeping its mysteries intact while building a new life together, one filled with love, magic, and the quiet promise of adventure still to come.

Characters

Keyanna “Key” MacKay

Keyanna MacKay starts as a woman trying to reconnect with her Scottish roots after the death of her estranged father, Duncan. She is an outsider to the MacKay family, but her determination to learn about her father’s past and find her place in the family slowly transforms her into a significant part of the legacy.

At first, she is met with rejection, particularly from her grandmother, Rhona. However, Key’s resilience and tenacity ultimately help her grow into the role of the protector of the family’s secret.

As she uncovers the mysterious connections between her family and the supernatural entity in the loch, Key begins to understand her father’s belief in the guardian of the loch. This helps her come to terms with her father’s unexplained life and death.

By the end of the novel, Key not only reconciles with her family but also finds a deep connection to her ancestors’ legacy and their purpose. This culminates in her love for Lachlan and her newfound role in guarding the secrets of the loch.

Lachlan Greer

Lachlan Greer enters the story as a brooding and mysterious Scotsman, initially acting as a reluctant protector of Key. He is harboring his own personal struggles, primarily his quest to understand the disappearance of his father, who was involved in the same mysterious happenings surrounding the loch.

Lachlan is initially suspicious of Key because of her last name, which links her to the MacKays, who are involved in a long-standing feud with his family. His hard-edged demeanor hides a deep emotional core, and over the course of the novel, his feelings for Key evolve from anger and frustration to a burning attraction.

Lachlan’s arc revolves around his journey to uncover the truth about his father’s disappearance, the supernatural forces surrounding the loch, and how these truths intertwine with the MacKay family’s past. His eventual acceptance of his feelings for Key marks his emotional growth, as he moves from seeking revenge to choosing to stay in Greerloch and protect the loch’s secret with Key.

Rhona MacKay

Rhona MacKay is a complex character who begins the story as a stern, bitter matriarch. She resents her son Duncan for leaving the family and never returning, and her coldness toward Key reflects her long-held anger and feelings of abandonment.

Rhona’s resistance to Key is rooted in old wounds that have festered for years, making it difficult for her to embrace her granddaughter. Throughout the novel, Rhona’s character softens, particularly after Key’s persistence and the slow revelation of family secrets.

Rhona’s role evolves from the antagonist of Key’s journey to a more supportive figure as she comes to terms with her past. By the end, Rhona reconciles with her past, accepting both Key and the legacy that binds their family to the loch.

Her evolution is central to the healing of the MacKay family, and her eventual acceptance of Key symbolizes the healing of old wounds.

Finn MacKay

Finn MacKay, Key’s grandfather, is portrayed as the emotional heart of the MacKay family. Unlike Rhona, he is warm and welcoming, offering support and a sense of belonging to Key when she feels rejected.

Finn serves as the family historian, providing Key with crucial insights into her father’s past, including the letters Duncan sent that were never answered. He helps Key understand the significance of the MacKays’ connection to the loch and the ancient entity they are sworn to protect.

As a character, Finn embodies wisdom and acceptance, often acting as the bridge between the younger generation, represented by Key, and the older, more resistant generation, represented by Rhona. His illness later in the story creates further tensions, pushing the family to confront their past and reassess their priorities.

Brodie MacKay

Brodie MacKay is Key’s cousin, and his character is marked by a sense of opportunism and self-interest. Though he initially appears to be a part of the welcoming side of the MacKay family, it is revealed that Brodie is driven by greed and a desire for personal gain.

His interest in selling the farm to outsiders, even if it means betraying his family, sets him up as a foil to the more noble characters like Key and Lachlan. Brodie’s betrayal of the MacKays is central to the conflict of the story, highlighting the danger of exploiting the loch’s secrets for personal gain.

His eventual expulsion from the family serves as a consequence of his actions, reinforcing the importance of loyalty and the protection of the family’s legacy.

Hamish Campbell

Hamish Campbell is a minor character, but his role is crucial in Key’s introduction to Greerloch. He represents the friendly and helpful local community that Key encounters upon her arrival.

His initial assistance with her car trouble and his recognition of her last name set the stage for Key’s understanding of her father’s past and his legacy in the area. Hamish’s surprise at Key’s arrival and his acknowledgment of her father’s name highlight the longstanding history between the MacKays and the locals, providing a subtle but important backdrop for the story’s unfolding mysteries.

Themes

The Inheritance of Secrets and the Burden of Legacy

At the core of Under Loch and Key is the weight of inheritance—not just of blood ties and land but of the hidden truths that shape a family’s past. Keyanna arrives in Scotland unaware that her father’s stories held more than just bedtime comfort; they were warnings, fragments of a truth that her family had spent generations guarding.

The MacKay family is steeped in secrecy, and the novel explores how those who inherit such legacies must grapple with their responsibilities, whether they embrace or reject them. Key, as the outsider, is forced to sift through the layers of silence and hostility to uncover the reality of her family’s connection to the loch.

Lachlan, too, carries an inherited burden—the disappearance of his father, whose search for answers mirrors Key’s own journey. The novel delves into the psychological impact of being born into a history one never asked for, of being expected to uphold a tradition that is both sacred and suffocating.

It questions whether legacy is an obligation or a choice and whether the weight of the past is something to bear or to break free from.

The Fractured Bonds of Family and the Complexity of Reconciliation

The novel does not present family as a source of automatic warmth and love. Instead, it portrays it as a tangled web of wounds, betrayals, and unresolved grievances.

Rhona MacKay, hardened by past pain, embodies the bitterness of unresolved loss. Her rejection of Key is not simply cruelty but the manifestation of grief that has calcified into resentment.

Finn, in contrast, serves as a bridge between past and present, proof that love and regret can coexist. Through Key’s journey, the novel examines how wounds between generations are often left unspoken, festering in the silence until someone is brave enough to confront them.

But reconciliation is not instantaneous—it is a slow and painful process, built not on dramatic confessions but on shared moments of vulnerability. Quiet gestures of acceptance and, in some cases, the passing of time play a crucial role in mending broken relationships.

The story acknowledges that not all family fractures can be fully mended. Understanding does not always mean forgiveness.

Brodie’s betrayal, for example, reveals that sometimes familial bonds are not enough to prevent greed, resentment, or personal ambition from driving people apart.

The Collision of Rationality and Myth in the Search for Truth

Key arrives in Scotland skeptical of the supernatural, viewing her father’s stories as little more than sentimental illusions. Lachlan, despite his own doubts, is far more entrenched in the belief that something more lurks beneath the surface.

The novel uses these opposing perspectives to explore the tension between rationality and the mythic. It contrasts the human tendency to seek logical explanations with the persistent, haunting possibility that the world is far stranger than we understand.

The Loch Ness Monster, long treated as a fable or a conspiracy, becomes more than just a creature—it is a symbol of the unknown. It represents the things we dismiss because they do not fit within the framework of what we have been taught to believe.

Through Key’s journey from skepticism to acceptance, the novel suggests that truth is often a fluid thing, shaped as much by faith as by fact. It challenges the idea that belief in something extraordinary is a sign of weakness or naivety.

Instead, it argues that some truths require a willingness to look beyond what is easily explainable.

The Fear of Being an Outsider and the Struggle to Belong

Key is an outsider in every sense—both to the MacKay family and to the insular world of Greerloch. From the moment she arrives, she is met with suspicion, as if her mere presence threatens the stability of a carefully maintained status quo.

The novel presents the experience of being an outsider as not just a social challenge but an existential one. Key’s desire to belong is not simply about finding a home but about proving to herself that she is not just a stranger in her own family’s story.

Lachlan, too, exists on the fringes—his last name alone marks him as someone whose presence is unwelcome among the MacKays. Their growing bond is built on this shared alienation, a recognition that belonging is not always about blood but about the connections one chooses to forge.

Yet the novel does not suggest that integration is easy. Key’s acceptance into the family is not immediate or unconditional.

She has to fight for her place, to prove that she is not an intruder but someone who deserves to be part of this world. In doing so, the novel reflects on the universal fear of rejection and the perseverance required to carve out a place for oneself in a world that resists change.

The Interplay of Attraction and Distrust in the Formation of Love

The romance between Key and Lachlan is not one of immediate, sweeping declarations but of slow-burning friction. Their relationship is shaped as much by animosity as by attraction.

Their dynamic is built on a foundation of distrust—Lachlan sees Key as reckless, an outsider who may threaten what he has worked to uncover. Key views Lachlan as infuriatingly cryptic and overbearing.

Their constant clashes are not just about personality differences but about deeply rooted fears—fear of being vulnerable, fear of being wrong, and fear of what their connection might mean.

The novel portrays love as something that does not erase conflict but exists alongside it. It requires both people to dismantle their own walls, brick by brick.

It acknowledges that passion is often tangled up with frustration and that desire is not always gentle. Their romance mirrors the broader themes of the novel—trust must be earned, truths must be uncovered, and belonging is something to fight for.

The Ethical Dilemma of Knowledge and the Cost of Keeping Secrets

Throughout the novel, characters are forced to ask themselves whether certain truths should remain hidden. The MacKays have spent generations guarding the secret of the loch, but at what cost?

Key and Lachlan’s journey forces them to confront the moral implications of secrecy. Should some knowledge remain hidden? 

Does the world have a right to the truth?

The novel raises questions about responsibility and power, about who gets to decide what information is revealed and what is concealed.

Brodie’s betrayal stems in part from a different philosophy—he believes that the secret should not be protected but monetized. To him, the loch’s mystery is a resource rather than a sacred duty.

Through these conflicting perspectives, the novel explores the weight of knowing something the world does not. It examines the sacrifices that come with keeping certain doors closed.

The Intersection of Personal Identity and Ancestral Duty

For both Key and Lachlan, the journey is not just about uncovering external truths but about understanding themselves. Key begins as someone trying to make sense of her father’s past, but by the end, she is no longer just Duncan’s daughter—she is a MacKay in her own right.

Lachlan, similarly, starts off as a man driven by his father’s disappearance. But he comes to realize that his identity is not solely defined by that loss.

The novel explores the delicate balance between honoring the past and forging one’s own path. It suggests that history is not just something to be inherited but something to be interpreted.

In choosing to stay and protect the loch, both characters make a decision that is not just about duty but about self-discovery. They are not simply following in their ancestors’ footsteps but choosing, with full awareness, what kind of legacy they wish to continue.