Alsadair Gray wrote the first edition of this book for the 1992 general election. In it he showed the poor state of present-day Scotland; gave a concise, elegant history of the Scottish people and their relations with the rulers of England; argued that Scotland should have a strong government elected by its own people. Five years later Scotland still does not have that and its state has worsened.

The original chapters have been revised and largely rewritten. New chapters dealing with Scottish education, land owning, and law and the Labour Party bring the argument to date.

This is a more openly political book than the first edition, written to persuade people who feel their vote does not much influence how their country is managed that Scottish independence matters, and that only one political party is honestly working to achieve it.