A Toast to the Old Stones

Book excerpt: 'a wonderfully atmospheric tale ... offers a brief, magical escape to a kinder, simpler time' – Roger Cox, The Scotsman It's 1968, and the fishermen of Kinloch are preparing to celebrate the old New Year on the twelfth of January. The annual pilgrimage to the Auld Stones is a tradition that goes back beyond memory, and young Hamish, first mate on the Girl Maggie, is chuffed that he's been invited to this exclusive gathering – usually reserved for the most senior members of Kinloch's fishing community. Meanwhile, it appears that the new owners of the Firdale Hotel are intent upon turning their customers teetotal, such is the exorbitant price they are charging for whisky. Wily skipper Sandy Hoynes comes up with a plan to deliver the spirit to the thirsty villagers at a price they can afford through his connections with a local still-man. But when the Revenue are tipped off, it looks as though Hoynes and Hamish's mercy mission might run aground. Can the power of the Auld Stones come to their rescue, and is the reappearance of a face from Hoynes' past a sign for good or ill?