Brandon has just graduated from university as a primary school teacher. As he travels to his first teaching post, he wonders what he’s got himself into. From the airplane, the tiny town of Gunnanilla looks no bigger than a cattle station. And when he lands, he steps into heat such as he has never encountered before. Sweating and feeling faint from the extreme temperature, he meets his new boss Mark Petersen, the racist principal of the only school for miles around. Then he meets the school’s other teacher, Mark’s wife Trina, and the students, most of whom are Australian Aborigines. Life in the small town is no picnic. In the summer, the heat is unrelenting. In the wet season, the town is cut off from the outside world and all deliveries are brought to a halt. There is only one television channel. To top it all off, there are any number of poisonous creatures around, such as snakes, scorpions, and spiders. How’s a poor city boy like Brandon, who’s interested in fashion, music, and clubbing and none too confident with his sexuality, going to cope? Enter the handsome, rough-around-the-edges miner, Frank. When Mark warns Brandon that Frank is gay, it seems this town might finally have something to keep him entertained. But how can he meet Frank without drawing attention to his own sexuality? How can anything possibly happen between them in such rough, tough, and macho surroundings?

Desert Country

Brandon groaned. “Really? I hate exercise like I hate having a tooth drilled.”


Frank laughed. “And it shows. Come on. You’ve got nice broad shoulders. You could easily build your body up.”


“I used to swim competitively,” said Brandon.


“Ah, so you don’t hate exercise completely?”


Brandon held his arms out in front, ready to do his second squat. “Just this sort of exercise.”


Frank placed one hand on Brandon’s shoulder and placed the palm of his other hand in the small of Brandon’s back. “And down. 3-4-5. And up again.”


Brandon could really feel the burn in the back of his legs.


“Number three,” said Frank, pushing down with his hand.


Brandon lowered himself, slowly, under Frank’s masterful assistance.


“Feet flat on the floor. Back straight. And up again.”


Chapter 8