The Laidlaw books are widely considered to be among the greatest achivements of Scottish crime writing and the founding novels of what has since become known as Tartan Noir.

In this second book in his monumental Laidlaw series, McIlvanney tells the tale of Eck Adamson, an alcoholic vagrant who summons Jack Laidlaw to his deathbed. Probably the only policeman in Glasgow who would bother to respond, Laidlaw see in Eck's cryptic last message a clue to the murder of a gangland thug and the disappearance of a student. With stubborn integrity, Laidlaw tracks down a seam of corruption that runs through all levels of Glaswegian society.

William McIlvanney has twice been awarded the CWA's Silver Dagger award and is the recipient of the Whitbread Award for Fiction.