Cirrus@Austlit

'When Mike Whalen revisits his former commando training grounds at rugged, beautiful Wilsons Promontory, he's shocked by a chance meeting with the granddaughter of his glamorous old friends, Helen and Johnny.

'When Johnny died in the Pacific War, Mike was left with a burden of buried secrets. And as he's drawn back into the life of Helen's family, Mike finds himself overwhelmed by the past, from growing up in melting-pot Broome to tragic guerilla missions in Timor, desire in post-war Hiroshima and betrayal in the jazzy fifties.

'Before Mike can turn the bitter tides of memory and have any hope of happiness, he must rebuild his bonds with wartime mates, face his long-held guilt, and finally confront Helen - and himself - with the truth.

'From Broome to the Prom via war in the Pacific, this is a powerful saga of mateship, adventure, betrayal and passion.' (Publication summary)

'When Alan Villiers visited Melbourne docks as a boy at the beginning of the last century and dreamed of sailing away, commercial sailing ships were still the main means of getting goods from one continent to another and large square-riggers could be seen in every major ort. By the time of his death in 1982, only a handful remained. But the memory of those ships persists, to a large degree thanks to Villiers himself, who dedicated his life to sharing his passion for those magnificent vessels, documenting their passing era with both words and images - and always spinning a good yarn.

Using Villiers' own journal and private notebooks, Kate Lance takes a close look at the complex, often conflicted man behind countless classic seafaring books and articles. She skilfully interweaves Villiers' personal story with that of commercial sail, exploring issues such as the presence of women on square-rigged ships, the Allied sea operations during the Second World War and the politics of ship preservation and reconstruction. Most importantly, however, she takes the reader on a captivating, fulfilling journey with one of the most accomplished adventurers of the twentieth century.' (Publisher's Blurb)