The 'dirty Fergusons' live like pigs and seem happy to do so. But by doing so they offend against Alan Finlay's strict sense of sanitary propriety. On the other hand Mrs. Elgin and her aged sister live in an atmosphere of pathological cleanliness, and they become Dr. Cameron's reluctant concern.

Alan Finlay is a poor sailor. So when he is called out to visit old Strachan, the lighthouse keeper, who has spiked his finger, he dreads the trip. But Strachan is far worse than anticipated and Finlay must be both doctor and nurse - cooped up with Strachan and two other keepers in a spot cut off by gales from the outside world. Dr. Cameron is equally displeased as he has to cope with both his own and his partner's work while the latter is stormbound.