`A story of disaster and depravity is told in alternating chapters with the story of the Galloway family, station owners, and the story of Darwin itself, from the day it was bombed by Japanese fighter planes during WW2 and nearly flattened, to the extraordinary Christmas Day in 1974 when Darwin was again devastated by 'fury from the sky': this time in the form of Cyclone Tracy. Following the course of a priceless 16th century locket and the fortunes of the Galloway clan, the author tells of disaster, courage and passion and that top end spirit that never says die. (LA)