On the goldfields of 19th-century Australia, two very different girls are trying to escape their past. 1856, China. In the mulberry groves of the Pearl River Delta, eighteen-year-old Little Cat carries a terrible secret. And so, in disguise as a boy in blue trousers, she makes the long and difficult passage to Australia, a faraway land of untold riches where it is said the rivers run with gold. 1857, Australia. Violet Hartley has arrived off the boat from England, fleeing scandal back home. Like the Chinese immigrants seeking their fortunes on the goldfields, Violet is seduced by the promise of a new frontier. Then she meets Little Cat, a woman who, like her, is trying to escape her past. As their fates inextricably, devastatingly entwine, their story becomes one of freedom, violence, love and vengeance, echoing across the landscapes of two great continents.

Well-crafted, emotionally rich and eminently readable * South China Morning Post *
Nicely plotted... The reader is left guessing right until the end. Worth the risk of a sleepless night' * Malay Mail *
A deeply immersive novel' * Australian Women's Writers *
A tale of family secrets and twisted revenge, featuring brave female characters who struggle against the roles and limitations that society imposes on them * The Star *

Born in Brisbane, Australia, Carol Jones taught English and Drama at secondary schools before working as an editor of children's magazines. She is the author of several young adult novels as well as children's non-fiction. caroljonesauthor.com