This work investigates the feasibility and economic viability of establishing a commercial shark-fishing industry in the Hebrides. Maxwell documents his personal attempt to launch a Basking Shark fishery off the coast of Soay, Scotland, in the post-World War II era. Drawing on his own experiences as an entrepreneur and observer of marine life, he details the logistical challenges of hunting large marine animals in volatile northern waters. The narrative serves as both a business chronicle and a record of a vanishing way of life in the remote Scottish islands.

Readers frequently note the descriptive, atmospheric quality of the prose, which captures the rugged isolation of the Scottish coast. Experts highlight this as a significant historical account of mid-century maritime industry and a precursor to the author's later, more famous nature writing.