The story of the origin and times of Doggett's Coat and Badge race, the oldest annual sporting event. It has been rowed on London's River Thames by young watermen since 1715.

This is a story of the River Thames, its working people, and the Port of London in the early 18th Century. It is the story of the origin of a famous rowing race held on the river. 'Doggett's Coat and Badge', now the oldest continually held annual event in the sporting calendar, and simply called The Coat by the watermen of today. It is told through the eyes of Edwin, the unknown young wherryman on whom Doggett supposedly based his race. It is the tale of the life-style of the rivermen and the citizenry of London in those harsh and brutal times. Although fiction, the book is based on facts gleaned from a study of the records of the City and the trading Guilds of London.