Cirrus@Austlit

'Isobel Richardson can cope with most things; her husband's redundancy, a shortage of money, three spirited kids and a demanding old house on the West Wales coast. She sees the loss of Leo's job as a chance for new beginnings and her drive and determination propel the family towards a sparkling new life in Australia. However, Isobel's mother Helen is devastated. Cold and unsupportive, she refuses to join in the family adventure and throws the guilt card firmly down on the table. Isobel is horribly torn between duty and dreams, but Australia's promise of opportunity finally proves irresistible. When the family lands in Oz though, her unbearable guilt at leaving a broken Helen behind is compounded by the pain of missing absent son Ben - and all the while Mother Nature is hatching some plans of her own. Isobel is reduced to a tearful mess pushing Leo away, snapping at the children, overwhelmed, scared and irrational. Worn down and confused, she inches closer and closer to running back to her mother and the life she knew in Wales. Has the great Australian dream really eluded her after all?' (Publication summary)