This novel about life in the West Highlands deals with a single week in the affairs of a small coastal village. A series of meetings are the settings in which the locals try to resolve their differences over public issues, as well as more personal ones - not least being, who stole the lobster?

This double volume covers Naomi Mitchison's Edwardian childhood in Oxford and Scotland, as well as the development of her very personal thoughts and ideas during her teenage years as she grew to womanhood.