'Helen takes a job at the Northgate Cannery to pay the electricity bill. As a single mother building a new life for herself and her children, she must face the risks and worry of leaving the children, as well as braving the unfamiliar factory floor. She is helped at the cannery by Elze, a Polish post World War Two migrant who'd been processing beetroot for sixteen years. Despite their different ages, cultures and backgrounds, they develop a deep friendship that will change Helen's life.' (One Book Many Brisbanes : Fifth Anthology of Brisbane Stories p. 84)