"For the professional young women of Orkney, this influx of engineers and scientists was a godsend. It opened up the choice and here were men on good salaries, men with prospects. The selection of farmers, shopkeepers, and local government officers could seem dull to a girl. These new men, some of whom were international, were connected to energy, to taming the unruly sea, it was exciting.

For Phillippe, Orkney was on the edge of something; the edge of Europe, the edge of civilisation, the edge in weather terms and the edge in engineering terms. He wanted, needed, to overcome the edgeness, to conquer the challenges, to tame the nature of the sea, to make the tidal power machine work. Then what? He hadn't thought that far; this project was probably going to take some time, maybe 10 years at least.

For Kara this was no edge, no remote spot, this was home and here she planned to stay. She wanted a family, a husband and children, the next generation stretching before her."