In the summer of 1988, Libby Purves set sail with her family on a voyage round the entire coastline of Britain, from the soft, sandy South-East, to the wilder shores of Orkney. They travelled in the wake of their literary-nautical forebears aboard their modern-built gaffer, Grace O'Malley, with their children, Nicholas (five) and Rose (three). As conscious of curious anecdote and tragic folklore as she is of contemporary injustice and familial tension, Libby Purves evokes a fresh, rich and fascinating portrait of people and places.