His life, compared to that of his Hebridean home, is accelerated beyond his expectations as he finds himself being forced into the confusing sophistry and ambiguities of the metropolitan life.

Up here, forget everything you thought you knew about the weather. On this mysterious yet enchanting island strange things can happen: omens, magic, restless spirits ploughing the night on their endless quest for peace, the very land and sea can speak to you of secrets, and of their very own character. When you leave, the dull ache of longing will claw in your heart drawing you back. It's a place like no other. The Isle of Arnasay.

Three generations of the Waters clan lie at the centre of this powerful tale about what happens when families and communities fall apart.

Told through the eyes of Madeline, from twenty years in the future, by which time she has become a successful, Manhattan-dwelling novelist, we are transported on a roller-coaster-like emotional voyage through the Sea Kingdoms of the Hebrides.

Steeped in Celtic, Viking, and Pictish cultural heritage, this gripping novel of close-knit family and community dynamics tells how these forces come into play and wreak havoc with the lives of the Hebrides islanders.

This tale will have meanings, echoing the harsh realities of island life, for all Gaels, at home and abroad. But its appeal goes much wider than that. You can't choose your family; all too often you can't choose your friends either. Sometimes, you can't tell the difference.