Professor Murray Watson is rather a sad sack. His family,
his career, his affair...not even drinking offers much
joy. All his energies are now focused on his research into
Archie Lunan, a minor poet who drowned 30 years ago off a
remote stretch of Scottish coast. By redeeming Lunan's
reputation, Watson hopes to redeem his own. But the more
he learns about Lunan's sordid life, the more unlikely
redemption appears.