Helen Norman

Police sergeant Neil Howie is called to an island village in search of a missing girl whom the locals claim never existed. Stranger still, however, are the rituals that take place there.

It's the day of the Orange Parade in Glasgow, but for Jon, the thrill of leading the parade and swinging the mace soon turns to horror as he learns the truth behind the costumes and songs.

When Alison unexpectedly falls pregnant after a brief encounter with Alex (David Hayman's first TV role) they decide to marry. The joining of two seemingly different families opens into a witty and audacious tale, which caused uproar after its first broadcast in 1972. An early triumph for Peter McDougall, when it was proclaimed the most exciting writing debut since John Osborne's Look Back in Anger.