Three old friends—one Scot, one American and one Norwegian—meet in Lerwick, Shetland, and spend a week exploring and photographing the islands. Then, after a few days on Orkney, they spend a week on Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. The text and photographs aim to capture the rugged coastlines, the moody ancient ruins, the austere towns, the soft but rocky landscapes, the animals that live there, the quirky eccentricities of each place, the enduring traditions, the horizontal rain, and the tangy smell of peat-fire smoke.