Cirrus@Austlit

'It is 1957 and, after the death of her husband, pianist Ilona Talivaldis and her nine-year-old daughter Zidra travel to the remote coastal town of Jingera in New South Wales. Ilona, a concentration camp survivor from Latvia, is searching for peace and an opportunity to start anew. In her beautiful vine-covered cottage on the edge of the lagoon, she plans to set herself up as a piano teacher.

The weeks pass, and slowly mother and daughter get to know the townsfolk - including kind-hearted butcher George Cadwallader who is forever gazing at the stars; his son Jim, a boy wise beyond his years; Peter Vincent, a former wartime pilot and POW; and Cherry Bates, the publican's wife who is about to make a horrifying discovery...

For Jingera is not quite the utopia Ilona imagines it to be - and at risk is the one thing Ilona holds dear... ' (Publisher's website.)

'It is the spring of 1961, and the sleepy little town of Jingera is at its most perfect with its clear blue skies, pounding surf and breath-taking lagoon. Yet all is not so perfect behind closed doors.

'George Cadwallader - butcher by day and star-gazer by night - is loved by everyone, except his wife. He only wants the best for his family - yet it's all falling apart.

'Philip Chapman is a sensitive young boy, a musical prodigy - and a target for bullies. But with his wealthy parents indifferent to his cries for help, his entire future is at risk...

'Then there's Ilona Vincent and her daughter Zidra, former refugees, now fully-fledged 'Jingeroids'. When a voice from the past reaches out to them, they're soon in a race against time to reunite a family that has been cruelly torn apart...' (From the publisher's website.)