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

Check out time on Sunday was ten o’clock, and they only just made it out in time not to be charged for another night. On the way back to Gunnanilla, Frank let Brandon drive.


“So you’ve got three, or four, more months up here?” asked Frank.


“A bit over three, I think. One more week of this term, then two weeks in Perth, then ten weeks until the end of the final term.”


The minute he said it, he regretted not using a little more tact. It seemed so final. So pre-determined.


Frank looked out his side window. “And…what about us?” He was hesitant. “I don’t think I could live in the city. Nice place to visit, but I prefer the open spaces.”


“I don’t think I could live up here all the time, Frank. It’s so boring. There’s nothing to do. Without you, I’d have gone crazy by now.”


“But you do have me,” said Frank, turning his face back to Brandon. “So what are we going to do?”


Chapter 25