New York: Norton, (1998.) dj. Hardcover first edition - The 9th book of this award-winning Australian-born author, and one of her most powerful books, short-listed for the Miles Franklin and the National Book Award and Canada's Trillium award. From the dj flap: "Outer Maroo, a small opal mining town in the Australian outback, is stewing in heat, drought, and guilty anxiety... Until the day two strangers, on the trail of a missing son and daughter, refuse to succumb to accidents. The town 's repressed secrets begin to dislodge themselves... And at the heart of this mystery is the cult Messiah, Oyster, dressed in white, sexually compelling, and preaching the end of time." 400 pp. ISBN: 0-393-046184.