The remarkable, blistering debut novel from Glasgow born author Stuart Douglas. Glasgow in 1981 is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain is abandoned by her philandering husband and soon she and her three children find themselves trapped in a decimated mining town. As she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves. It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. The miners' children pick on him and adults condemn him as no' right, but Shuggie believes that if he tries his hardest, he can be normal like the other boys and help his mother escape this hopeless place.