Stories of the river were told across the city. There wasn’t a child living within reach of the water who hadn’t grown up warned away from it with tales of dead trees lurking in the darkness of the muddy riverbed, ready to snatch the leg of a boy or girl braving its filthy water.
The river is a place of history and secrets. For Ren and Sonny, two unlikely friends, it’s a place of freedom and adventure. For a group of storytelling vagrants, it’s a refuge. And for the isolated daughter of a cult reverend, it’s an escape.
Each time they visit, another secret slips into its ancient waters. But change and trouble are coming – to the river and to the lives of those who love it. Who will have the courage to fight and what will be the cost?
Winner, 2016 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards – Prize for Indigenous Writing
Shortlisted, 2018 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Award for Fiction
Shortlisted, 2016 New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards – Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
Shortlisted, 2016 New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards – Indigenous Writer’s Prize
Shortlisted, 2016 Queensland Literary Awards – Fiction Book Award
