Shafted and swingletreed, polished harness straining, caps low against the October wind, the plough teams appeared over the hill and began to comb the nether slope into brown ridges. On the brow you'd have smelled the turning and falling of the wet earth, and you'd soon have known the differences between each man and his work... From the simmering tensions below the surface of a lowland farm before the first world war to a vengeful cat’s view of the conflicts of a modern metropolitan household, the tales here show humanity and humour, murder and morality, and the everyday courage it takes to confront the contradictions of class and culture. Brian McNeill, long celebrated for his interpretation of Scotland and its history in music and song, has turned to expressing himself about his homeland through fiction.