Tam Docherty was only five foot four --but wherever he stood he established a teritory. The people who lived in High Street, Graithnock came there because of poverty, yet Tam moved as if he were there by choice. And his name was not a pleasant sound to more than one manager in the south-west of Scotland.William McIlvanney's novel celebrates a sense of community that is strong, warm and deeply tolerant, and people who strive to live with dignity.