This really is a wonderful read. The description is so detailed it is as though you are sitting on the cliffs of St Kilda with the puffins flying all around. Based around the small island of St Kilda this story is about the islanders and their struggle to survive by living off the land but primarily this is about Chrissie. In 1927 Fred Lawson arrives for the summer to study the island before his return to university. The story moves between this summer and 1940 during world war II. Fred is a prisoner of war when he realises how much he misses Chrissie. Determined to see her again he plans his escape and his return to the island he left behind. This is a love story told through Chrissie and Fred moving between 1927 and 1940.