Shannon Hicks comes from a highly disputatious family in a country town near the sea, in the south of New South Wales. Shes been accustomed from birth to rough and tumble, but that doesnt mean that her dreams arent of a life with something wider and better.As she comes of age she goes to live with an aunt in Sydney, and begins to see that its more than just her family who are always in the wars. For a start, it is the 1930s, so the Great Depression has all working people scrapping and struggling, survival the aim. Then there are others who prey on them, or use them cannily for their own ulterior motives, even a few who genuinely care. Shannon slowly comes to understand that her particular brand of determination and skill is a special characteristic that will help her negotiate the struggle.In a rolling sequence of new occupations, of basic work grabbed when she can, and then positions offered as her talents come to be recognised by the world at large, Shannon discovers what makes the world go round, politics both public and private, and how to manage it. At the same time, in her personal life, she learns how people love, defend their weaknesses, and grab little pieces of happiness as they arise. She watches all these developments with the eyes of a stranger, sometimes arousing fascination in others, sometimes wariness of her strength, but as yet almost always in herself with a sense of detachment, and a restless wish to move on. Only as war comes in 1939 does she finally...

Binding: Paperback;332 pages; Publisher: Michael Walmer; Classification: FC; Weight: 516 g; Dimensions: 202 x 133 x 23

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