Douglas Low has reached the last slice of life. Recovering from a heart condition, he retires to a cottage on Holy Loch, his hope that this final bite might be a sweet one. For Edith, his invalid wife, the only wish is that new shores might bring relief from bitter, chronic pain.Douglas finds respite of his own in the form of Helen, his visiting lover. This new life, lived in the shadow of stationed American forces, finds a gentle, clandestine rhythm. But this is complicated by the arrival of his son, an unpredictable drifter who soon ruffles American feathers.Peter Gilmour's distinctive voice follows his beautifully drawn characters as they face the unpredictability of fate, each one touched by the cruel creep of expiration. A timely novel, Spring Manoeuvres addresses the blurring lines between protection, occupation and invasion, and the choice between compromise and sacrifice.