Ian Stewart's moving portrayal of bygone days is much more than an intriguing family story. It also deals with social and military events and their effect on ordinary people. Set at first mainly in Edinburgh and in Orkney, the story moves on to Wellington, New Zealand, where the family built new lives in this furthest-flung part of the Empire. The conditions in Britain and the reasons for migrating are a reminder of the fortitude and determination of our forbears and their suffering and loneliness so far from their homeland. They endured the events of the 20th century, with its epidemics which decimated the population, its economic recessions and its far-away wars which the citizens of the Empire felt a duty to support. In the Preface, Ian says, 'Many people now have little concept of how tough life was during The Great Depression and of the austerities and tragedies of war.' The South African War, Gallipoli, Passchendaele and more - what effect did these have on ordinary citizens and on soldiers and their families?