The classic thriller by the five-time winner of the Ned Kelly Award

The pain seemed to dissolve. Cold and rough tarmac against the face, chill wind down here at ground level, smell of French perfume on my shirt, delicious. I registered that but all I felt was sad. This is a stupid way to go, I thought. Careless.

When Mac Faraday’s best friend is found hanging, the assumption is suicide. But Mac is far from convinced, and he’s a man who knows not to accept things at face value.

A regular at the local pub, a mainstay of the footy team, Mac is living the quiet life of a country blacksmith—a life connected to a place, connected to its people.

But Mac carries a burden of fear and vigilance from his old life.

And as this past of secrets, corruption, abuse and murder begins to close in, he must turn to long-forgotten resources to hang on to everything he holds dear, including his own life.