Author surnames U-Z

A burgeoning new city is built on the dreams of the American gold rush. It is also built upon a landscape that has been stretching, sliding and breaking apart for millennia.

The action of the novel takes place at the fictional 'Beckford College', a private school for boys; the title alludes to the arrival at the school of a mischievous young boy called Farnie, who turns out to be the uncle of the older 'Bishop' Gethryn, a prefect, cricketer and popular figure in the school. His arrival, along with that of another youngster who becomes fag to Gethryn, leads to much excitement and scandal in the school, and the disruption of some important cricket matches.

After the breakdown of a turbulent relationship, Frank moves from Canberra to a shack on the east coast once owned by his grandparents. He wants to put his violent past and bad memories of his father behind him. In this small coastal community, he tries to reinvent himself as someone capable of regular conversation and cordial relations.

The night before her lavish wedding to Oliver Bergin, Cressida Forrest went to bed serene and happy. By morning, she had vanished. Shocked and anxious, the two families face a long and painful day of revelations, as a complex, fragile web of sexual, marital and financial secrets is ripped apart by Cressida's disappearance.