On the Edge of Red

by Jo Dutton

Lara arrived in central Australia by train, travelling from one end of the tracks to the other. It was a long silver train that wound snake-like, changing skins at Port Augusta where the seascape-stencilled carriages were replaced by camels moving in silhouette against a crimson sun.

Lara, an anthropologist, maps patterns of belonging. Her job is to find connections, relationships, ties. Yet in her personal life Lara's never belonged anywhere. In fact, she's an expert at cutting - cutting tied, cutting her losses, cutting out.

But when Lara flees Perth and her boyfriend Sim for Alice Springs and a new job mapping Aboriginal land claims, she doesn't factor in Sim's resolute love for her, nor his determination to make things work. Sim soon follows and together they forge a new life, pursuing their passions and politics, making Alice home.

Then tragedy intervenes and Lara finds her pst coming back to haunt them both ...

257 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998