Hestan Island, marooned in the Solway Firth, tethered to the mainland at low tide by a causeway called The Rack. Hestan is home to two men quietly living out their lives, until a boy is almost crushed to death in their tiny copper mine after which the horrors of their shared past begins to unravel. As truths are revealed we are taken back through the bloody wars of Crimea and the lands of the Tartars; to book burnings, betrayals, and the bonds of men who find themselves in dire circumstance. It is not long before terrible secrets are laid bare. The third in acclaimed writer Clio Gray's Scottish Mysteries, Hidden Pasts explores the history of a little known part of Scotland and provides a compelling tale of how small events can echo down the years, with deadly consequences.