'"The bone flute she wore at her neck.
'"He touched the crescent-shaped curio. 'You are Ilois,' he siad. It was the first time she had ever heard him use the word. 'You are Ilois.'
'"The islands once known as the strangest penal colonies on earth are now seething with discontent; and Jacqueline Villiers, caught at the centre of the turmoil, is torn between her uncle's determiation to stay in power and the attraction of her Ilios friends.
'"Who was the adminstrator's neice? And what was the significance of the bone flute?
'"In his compelling new novel, Nicholas Hasluck reveals how half-truths and deceptions can lead to a country bedevilled by its past - a country without music."' (Publication summary)