Travelling through the wild north-west in winter, between Clyde and Tweed in spring, through the Hebrides in summer and along the east coast in autumn, the author explores Scotland through the people he meets along the way. His range covers steel workers from Ravenscraig and marginalized Highland landowners, peat-cutting on Islay and prawn-trawling in the Clyde, talking to the new millionaire owner of the island of Gigha and visiting an oil rig following the ceilidh trail up the islands and joining the royal watchers at the Braemar Gathering. The result is a picture of Scotland as it really is today, not under a tartan wrapping.