This is one of the first of Maclean's works in which he explores the bardic poetry of Gaelic culture. Like many of his works it has a strong narrative element. The piece is inspired by an eighteenth-century poem called 'The Ship of Women', by The Bard MacIntyre, which refers to the magical ships of folk tradition. On the deck of the ship are three strange and grotesque women; on close inspection it is possible to see their faces and the shapes of their bodies. In the black water below, fish swim ominously like circling sharks.