'An extraordinary novel told from the perspective of ten-year-old Sam, who is recovering from an operation that leaves him unable to speak. Sam lives with his mother, sister Katie and Aunt Dettie, his father's sister, who helps to look after them. His father is notably absent, and has been for some time, but when their mother begins to date again, Aunt Dettie reacts very badly. After an unexpected phone call, Aunt Dettie packs Sam and Katie into the backseat of her car and tells them that she's taking them to Perth to be reunited with their father. As Dettie drives the children across Australia in the middle of a sweltering and dangerous bushfire season, her behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, and the children begin to realise that there is something very wrong.
'Voiceless, Sam can only watch helplessly as the family trip becomes a smoke-filled nightmare.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
