It's the 1930s in a remote mining town, deep in rainforest and mountains on an island off the bottom of Australia. This is home for the lively, fun-loving Zillah but sometimes it feels more like a cage. When Reg shows up, he brings the hope of a bigger life. She can't know that the good-looking footballer brings something else altogether. As their attachment grows, so does a sense of dread that things are not what they seem. Reg proposes but Zillah cannot marry him, not the least because her Irish Catholic mother disapproves. Yet she cannot let him go. Both are caught in the escalating tension as Reg loses his job and Zillah grapples with how much she's willing to risk. Desperate choices must be made, with shattering consequences for the two families and the entire town. Who must face the truth? Based on a true family story hidden for decades, this disturbing and compelling novel will keep you turning the pages long past midnight.