Description

‘A heart-breaking love story from a great new voice’ Saga

Australia 1945. Until now Kate Dowd has led a sheltered life on her family’s sprawling sheep station but, with her father’s health in decline, the management of the farm is increasingly falling to her.

Kate is rising to the challenge when the arrival of two Italian POW labourers disrupts everything – especially when Kate finds herself drawn to the enigmatic Luca Canali.

Then she receives devastating news. The farm is near bankrupt and the bank is set to repossess. Given just eight weeks to pay the debt, Kate is now in a race to save everything she holds dear.

Publisher Review

"Over the course of one year, Kate finds a strength and defiance she never knew she had in this fascinating debut novel" * Red Magazine * "A story of survival and forbidden love, this hooks you in from the atmospheric first pages, and will have you rooting for the feisty heroine" * Sunday Mirror * "A heart-breaking love story from a great new voice" -- Sue Price * Saga * "A novel about endurance and a stubborn will to survive, it is written with passion and intensity that is hugely attractive" -- Elizabeth Buchan "This sweeping epic set in rural New South Wales is about love, family and testing your mettle -- and it's compulsively readable. Just the thing for those lazy summer days" * Marie Claire Australia * "Full of moral dilemmas, brutality, and humanity, this is a terrific first novel that illuminates and unknown corner, while creating characters who can and cannot change their minds" * Frances Fyfield, judging the 2018 McKitterick Prize * "An easy-to-read tale of Australian rural life and family drama ... Rhoades paints a vivid picture of the Australian bush, the strict social code, snobbery and racism" -- Sue Barraclough * Irish News * "Full of fine descriptions and multi-faceted characters, this is a convincing portrayal of life in 1940's outback Australia and an engaging read" * Choice * "The descriptions of life on a 1940s Australian sheep station are authentic, as are all the characters that inhabit this often confronting landscape... Its honesty and truth shine through on every page, and it deserves the highest recommendation" * Historical Novels Review * "Be immersed in the harsh, rugged romance of the Aussie bush, thanks to a wonderful new voice in literary rural fiction" * Australian Women's Weekly *