Cirrus@Austlit

'A town scandal. A kelpie chaperone. A winter ball. The bush telegraph has never had so much to talk about...

'A delightfully charming rural story about love and healing from bestselling Australian author Alissa Callen.

'Hettie Burbrook is the first to admit she's happiest when flying solo through the outback skies. After her hobby of photographing farmers lands her a book deal, it provides the ideal cover story to visit small-town Bundilla. But every photograph brings her closer to uncovering the answers behind why she is really in the mountains...

'Deer farmer Taite Lancaster is as strong as the tempered steel he welds into lifelike animal sculptures. Unlike his father, he will never allow feelings to break him. But when the old schoolfriend of his twin sister lands on the airstrip of their high-country station, he knows he's in trouble. Hettie is the one woman he can't forget.

'While they're both determined to keep to themselves, between dog races, a ute muster and a winter ball, Hettie and Taite are forced to face how much they need each other. And when a long-buried scandal erupts into the present, relationships and lives are threatened.

'Can a man who locks away his emotions reveal his vulnerability before the mountain snow melts? And can a woman intent on righting a decades-old tragedy listen to her heart before history repeats itself?' (Publication summary)