When a herd of bullocks has to be driven from a farm to a railhead, across an arid stretch of Australian desert, two men, widely different in age, experience, character and outlook come together at the beginning of the journey. Old John Napier is a veteran of the first World War, a tough, taciturn drover, who commands complete loyalty from the three aborigines he employs. He takes on a young man of twenty-six called Tom, and the five of them set off to deliver beef on the hoof in the best possible condition and with the minimum losses.
The Driven brings sharply to life and the harshness of the Australian landscape, the unspoken struggle between personalities and, against the constant lowing and shuffling of the herd, the companionship which comes to men through their dependence on one another, brought about by the difficult job in hand and the loneliness of a bitter countryside.
(Source: Georgian House, 1961)
