A compelling and timely novel that explores the underpinnings of a deeply conservative Australian Catholic community whose outward piety hides a shameful underbelly that dares not be exposed.
Thomas, a 23-year-old student priest, emerges alone from the wilderness four days after surviving a plane crash. But a missing woman's footprints are found with his, near the crash site. What part did Thomas play in her disappearance? And why does he claim he can't remember?
Sent to a psychiatrist to recover his memories, Thomas' life and world unravel in ways he could never have foreseen, shaking the very foundations of his faith, his loyalty to the Catholic Church and the vocation he has chosen.
Grappling with impossible expectations and burdened with guilt, the flawed characters show the consequences of oppressive rules colliding with impulses that can't be tamed.
'A compulsive read, it is also an evocative, almost poetic survival story conjuring up the beauty, power and destructiveness of the West Australian bush, coast and the ocean. It is also a story of self-discovery. It vividly captures the struggles of a young man in the 1950s trying to come to terms with meaning, belief and sexuality within an abusive and claustrophobic Catholicism.' - Dr Paul Collins, writer, broadcaster and historian.
