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

Then Brandon had a thought. “Did youget up to mischief down there?”


He could hardly bear to hear the answer. If Frank replied in the affirmative, he didn’t know what he’d do. Even thinking about Frank with someone else had the flames of jealousy flickering bright.


“I didn’t really have time,” he replied.


“I had to go and see my doctor. Do some shopping. I had some time owing so I thought I’d use it.”


Brandon nodded. “What did you go and see the doctor…?”


Before he could finish his sentence, there was a tug on his line. He gripped the rod, eagerly


“Pull it in gently. Keep the tension on the line. That’s it. Steady. Steady.”


Brandon could see something silvery in the water, wriggling madly to free itself from the hook embedded in its mouth.


“That’s it. Now bring it out of the water.”


Chapter 23