Like Birds in the Wilderness

In the north, a man pursues fortune while wrestling addiction and precarious work.

The building trade in the west of Scotland has slowed and Mac leaves for the oil-rich north to seek his fortune. But he soon finds himself out in the wilderness, chasing the promise of a job. In the meantime, he's fallen for Nancy, but he can't tear himself away from the other love of his life: the drink.

This darkly comic novel is a tale of addiction, masculinity and the precarious nature of employment for working-class men in 1980s Scotland.

Published to celebrate Agnes Owens' centenary year in 2026.