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

When they arrived at the pub, Frank parked the car.


“Can I come back and talk about this with you next weekend? When you’ve had time to think about it?”


If looks could kill, the one Brandon gave Frank would have put him jail for life.


Without answering, he got out of the car, taking care to slam the door as hard as he could before marching to his room and throwing Frank’s bag and a pair of his shoes onto the lawn.


Crying uncontrollably, he turned the key in the lock and flopped onto his bed. Alone with his thoughts, he prayed sleep would come and take him away from this nightmare. 15: The Last Mile


“Have you finished your reports?” asked Mark, standing over Brandon at his desk.


Brandon handed him the pad of reports, in duplicate—white for the student and yellow for the school records.


“Good work,” Mark said, taking a seat on a nearby desk. “So, you made it through your first year.”


“Relieved,” Brandon replied. “In need of a break.”


Chapter 33