Author(s): Barbara Hannay

Australian Fiction

Three women ...two families ...one secret ...When Zoe, restless black sheep of the Porter family, discovers that her biological father is a North Queensland cattleman, Peter Fairburn, her deep desire to meet him takes her from inner-city Brisbane to a job as a stockcamp cook. Zoe's mother, Claire, is wrestling with guilt over Zoe's discovery. She swears Zoe to secrecy, fearing that the truth could ruin the career of her high-profile politician husband. But when she is forced to confront her past, Claire also reassesses her marriage. Virginia Fairburn is happily married to Peter, but she's always lived with the shadow of the other woman her husband loved and lost. On the muster at Mullinjim, Zoe meets brooding cattleman Mac McKinnon, who knows from painful experience that city girls can't cope in the bush. Every instinct tells Mac that Zoe is hiding something. As the pressure to reveal her mother's secret builds, Zoe fears she must confide in Mac or burst. The truth has the potential to destroy two families. Or can it clear the way for new beginnings?