Set in Australia, Mia’s Magic Wand takes us on a fugitive journey from Sydney Harbour to the Kimberley. A mother, a father and a monk all want to fix what’s f****d with the world. Each loves to gamble. The mother gambles with politicians, the father gambles with weapons and the monk gambles with God. 

The plot revolves around an archive of blackmailing videos—The Magic Wand—owned by billionaire philanthropist, Tate Wolsey. Tate can have anything he wants, except for Mia, so he assaults her. But he underestimates his wife, Claudia. Outraged, she steals the Magic Wand and gives it to Mia. All hell breaks loose and Mia ends up with the last surviving copy of the Wand.

A federal election looms, news of the theft of the Wand leaks out and prominent politicians begin to worry. One of them, the Federal Police Minister, makes a deal with a jailed murderer, Dog, who holds a grudge against Mia. In quick succession, Dog is released from jail, Tate’s wife is murdered and Mia’s daughter is kidnapped.

Late one night, Mia arranges to hand over the Wand in exchange for her daughter but the deal goes sideways and a gun battle erupts. In the chaos, Mia and Red rescue their daughter and flee to the mountains—still in possession of the Wand.

Trekking to a highway, they hitch a ride with a truck driver and travel to the Kimberley. But Dog is still at large and a bloody struggle plays out. 


This is a multiple point of view story: each of the three characters taking their chapter by turn.

Mia's Magic Wand

Red is in surgery in Kununurra Hospital. A tropical sun filters through a skylight in the waiting room. Paddy’s stretched out on a lounge, a breeze from a heavy-duty fan sweeping across him at regular intervals. Cyclone weather is not Paddy’s thing, but the fan, a singlet and his King Gees are keeping it from being unbearable. 


 Paddy sits up, stretches and looks around, rubbing his eyes. On the other side of the room, an almost-empty bag of blood hangs above Mia, a tube delivering the contents into her arm while she sleeps, her short hair and blotchy skin giving the impression of a patient on chemotherapy. 


 EJ and Ludya sit clustered around Oksy near the head of the bed: Oksy with her hair wrapped in a towel, reading a book; EJ manicuring one of Oksy’s hands and Ludya rubbing cream into Oksy’s shoulders—all of them dressed ‘country’, even EJ, who wears a purple R.M. Williams shirt. 


Chapter 18 — Paddy