'As soon as he saw it, Miro Mananui knew what it was. An owl, its cryptic flaring with the dawn.' Who has the owl come for? Whose name has it cried out to Miro Mananui, the Matua of the village of Waituhi? In 'Band of Angels', mane lives and stories intersect. The passionate Mattie Jones bears a horrifying secret; Tama Mananui makes the most of an arranged marriage with a woman 20 years older; Nani Paora holds the key to the past and a history filled with bloodshed; and his grandson Pene may well be the key to the future. Pita Mahana's attempts to reinstate the past set in train events that lead to the return of the owl for its victims. Fuelled by passion, politics, psychic power and the search for truth, Band of Angels is another compelling novel from the master story teller Witi Ihimaera.

Witi Ihimaera was the first Maori writer to publish a collection of short stories ('Pounamu Pounamu', 1972) and a novel ('Tangi', 1973). A prolific author and editor, he was for many years a diplomat, and now lectures in English and creative writing at the University of Auckland.