Opening with a sequence of poems entitled 'King's Lynn and the Pacific' which follows the fortunes of two young sailors voyaging with Captain Cook, and closing with another sequence, 'At Wagner's Tomb', with a central group of poems - alternately witty, satirical, philosophical, reflective, lyrical - in which the 'Dog' theme of the opening sequence returns, this collection shows C. K. Stead to be in full charge of a talent which has surprised, delighted and challenged readers of poetry since it first declared itself in the 1950s.