There is only one month left before Cwm Sheepdog trials where Bag has to prove that he is a potential champion and not a useless runt who should have been drowned at birth. Dai's Da would certainly have drowned Bag if Dai hadn't saved him but the deal was that Dai could keep him for just a year. "One year and one year only. Til Cwm Sheepdog Trials. If there's a rosette on the wall by then, fine. If there isn't ..."

Clever though he is, Bag is also a "runaway train on legs". he means well but as far as the family is concerned he is a total disaster. The roof is off the house, there are escaped sheep all over the mountain and the Sunday joint has been ripped to bits--all thanks to Bag's antics.

An engrossing story of the loving friendship between a boy and his dog, set in the context of a turbulent family battling with each other and with their existence as a poverty-stricken Welsh sheep farmers. There is no room for sentimentality in their way of life but despite the havoc he causes, Bag is finally the means of demonstrating the true bond that exists between them all. --Pauline Sutton