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

“You could come with us,” Trina had said. “Save yourself a couple of hundred dollars.”


But Brandon was determined to get back to the city as quickly as possible. Besides, he wasn’t paying for the plane trip back, the Education Department was. Stig had written to tell Brandon that he could stay with him until he found a place of his own and Brandon had left Stig’s address with Katy so she could visit when she finally finished her stint at Gunnanilla. Back in his room, his bags were packed and waiting by the door. He’d said goodbye to Bruno and Julie, and to Kirk and Katy, the previous night. He done everything he could think of to ensure he was ready to go the minute the final bell rang.


“Who wants to play dodge?” shouted Brandon.


Chapter 35