Eisdalsa sees the return of many familiar figures bringing with them marriages, births and happiness for some, heartache and tragedy for others. It is 1913, the slate quarries on Eisdalsa have been abandoned and many people have left the island to find work elsewhere. The McDougal and McGillivray families set off to begin a new life in Western Australia while Dr David Beaton has left his son, Hugh, in charge of the medical practice at Tigh na Broch in order to take up a Government appointment in Glasgow. Wee Annie McGillivray has joined the fight for women's suffrage and is destined to experience the horrors and danger of a hunger strike in Holloway prison. She is released only when she is near to death, but she recovers with the aid of friends, Stuart Beaton, her childhood sweetheart, among them.
War is imminent and the conflict is to have far reaching effects upon everyone.
In this story of love and suffering, loyalty and heroism, Eisdalsa Island once again provides a haven for recuperation and regeneration. This is a country diary in the best amateur tradition, an unaffected record of simple pleasures that will speak directly to the many readers who share the Waite's dream of an island life but lack the courage to make that dream come true.