CLAIRE & JAMIE'S AMERICAN DREAM

The Frasers build a new life full of danger and family turmoil in 1700s North Carolina-but there's still plenty of steamy romance

- KATE HAHN

THE BEST FROM OUR ARCHIVES SEASON 4

Stranded in the New World after a rescue mission gone awry, recently reunited husband and wife Jamie and Claire Fraser (Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe) plan to return straight away to Scotland. Before they can, they make a new enemy: the cruel Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speleers), a pirate and smuggler. Then, Jamie is offered an irresistible chance to plant roots in North Carolina.

A DARK SCOTTISH FOREST of towering pines stands in for the untamed woods of colonial North Carolina on the set of Outlander, Starz's sexy, suspenseful time-travel romance. Huddled beside a small campfire on this chilly late-autumn night are Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan, who play soulmates Claire and Jamie Fraser. The bonnie pair are shooting a tender scene from the third episode of Season 4. "I want us to make a home together, a place that's ours," she says. They gaze into each other's eyes. He kisses her gently. Swoon.

"This season is about Claire and Jamie finding and building a life in America," Balfe says of the couple, who reunited in the middle of Season 3 after a two-decade separation during which Claire returned to the 20th century to give birth and raise their daughter, Brianna (Sophie Skelton). “We explore domesticity, but there's also drama-and passion," she adds during a break, her words turning to frosty clouds in the cold air. Laughing, she says, “They ain't hung up the old boots just yet!"

In fact, reaching middle age has only enhanced the couple's already scorching relationship. “It's going to be even sexier because they're in their 40s," Heughan says. "There's passion, always. They have great love, trust, understanding. And they rely on each other. America is a dangerous place.”