We first meet Stewart Gilmour, the young narrator, on a suspension bridge in the north of Scotland. It’s a cold, wet day. Gilmour has come back to Stonemouth, his home town. He has an assignation. He’s done something wrong, and he’s checking with the authorities to see if it’s okay for him to come back. He wants to attend a funeral. But the authorities are not the local police. They’re gangsters. Stonemouth is run by gangsters, and Stewart has done something to offend them. We are desperate to know what it is. Also, we know that Banks, an excellent storyteller, will lead us up to this moment, and that it will be the climax of the book. It’s very well told.