By Avan Judd Stallard
Nick Harris has been drifting for years – until the day he finds himself amid red dirt and razor wire, a refugee-prison guard in a detention centre. Nick is no crusader and no bleeding-heart. He’s just a man in debt who needs a job.
Time passes slowly behind the wire, no matter who you are. To distract themselves, the asylum seekers tell Nick about their lives and cultures, and the families they have left behind. They steal from him with good humour, and swear at him with bad.
Nick breaks all the rules: slacking off when he guards the cordial machine, swimming with crocodiles, brawling with locals, romancing workmates. And then there is the cardinal sin – becoming friends with the detainees.
About the author:
Avan Judd Stallard was born and raised in the south-west of Western Australia. He holds a PhD at the University of Queensland, where he taught Australian history and won the Dean’s Award for Excellence. Avan is the author of the history book Antipodes: In Search of the Southern Continent.
