It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes has always expected more from life. But she is abandoned by her husband, and soon she and her three children find themselves trapped in a decimated mining town. As she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves. It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. Booker 2020 Prize for Fiction.