This book is based on two main characters Chris and Agnes. Both characters have personal issues which will be reflected in the story in an objective manner. Chris is a 10 year old girl, that is hard to handle, she is very cheeky and impolite. Chris is from a family consisting of her older brother Waldo (16), younger brother Tommie (4) and mother Sonja (40). The three children of Sonja are from different fathers. Sonja has a boyfriend named Jaap who is younger than her, and find it hard to handle Chris but can get along with the other two children. Waldo the oldest son abused both Tommie and Chris, which makes the relationship between them very tense. Mother Sonja is not aware of the abuse and gives a lot of attention to Waldo since it is her favorite son (she sees a lot of her in him). Throughout the story, the family goes on a holiday to Scotland. When they are in Scotland the first tragedy happens, Chris accidently pushes her brother Waldo from the scaffolding and he hits his head on a rock and is instantly dead. Through this occasion Chris and her younger brother Tommie who was there as well, walk away from their parents because they are scared that their mother will be very mad. When walking away from their parents they incidentally meet Agnes. Agnes is an old lady of 70 years old. She never had children and all of her brothers that she had a good relationship with past away. She finds her rest in a summer house in Scotland. Throughout the story she gets a special relationship with the two children that hidden from their parents at her summer house. She takes care of them, and makes sure they are safe. The writer did a good job in describing the situation through using a chronological order and flash backs to intensify issues. Although the story has some strange turns that were very unexpected like the dead of brother Waldo, she knows how to surprise the reader. Through her devotion of shocking the reader with unexpected events she makes it realistic. She makes it realistic through her descriptive reading, eye for detail and using the right characters. ( )

Once I accepted the unlikely scenario of two Dutch runaways meeting up with a retired Dutch teacher on Mull, and the retired teacher not informing the authorities as soon as she discovered them stowed away in the back of her car, I enjoyed this novel. I am not sure either that people from Mull speak such broad Scots as the translator has them doing.
However, I found Agnes' growing reinterpretation of her relationships with her family very realistic and engaging. And the changing relationship between Agnes and her Mull neighbours was well done as well.
I also liked the uncertain ending - no happy every after, or tying up of loose threads.
I'm going to read the other two English translations by Dorrestein, I like her writing and characterisation. ( )