The Devil's Gifts in the Andean Cloud Forest of Peru

The trial of Heathfield Halliday ("Hal"), a young Scottish environmentalist follows his confrontation with the multinational mining syndicates which operate illegally in the Peruvian Andes. The threat to the wild life and the continual destruction of the rich heritage of the Amazonian forests spark his crusade to terminate their activities which the Peruvian authorities prefer to ignore. With his team of supporters, a carefully planned strategy ends almost in tragedy. He is repatriated by the Peruvian authorities to Scotland where he is held in custody in an Edinburgh prison and tried under international law. Hal shares a cell with Macrory, a robust tough-talking Scot with a soft heart. After he is assaulted in the shower room, Macrory protects him from further abuse. Both their cases are defended by a young lawyer, Ms Price, whose smart legal savvy steers the way through the dubious tactics of the prosecution. Judge McEwan is a known environmentalist but the media sniff out a potential compromise to his impartiality which could affect the outcome. The court sequences are conducted in the banter of the courtroom but highlight the cost of unbridled resource extraction in sensitive environments like those of the Andean Amazon. The lives of the two cellmates remain intertwined beyond the gates of the prison, and, in a surprise ending Ms Price ties the knot with one of them.