Mirren and Wattie Gillespie live in a small, decayed fishing port on the Forth. They are about to be rehoused and this imminent eviction stirs memories of life at the turn of the century.An intelligent, ill-educated radical, Wattie passionately believed in the brotherhood of man but, with eight mouths to feed, could not afford such principles. Mirren, a resourful woman, reared seven children in three rooms on 30 shillings a week. It is her daughters who inherit their mother’s indomitable strength. Tragedy befalls her sons. This novel has recently been selected by Book Trust Scotland as one of 50 Classics of the Century.