Beneath the Wild Fig Tree

A family drama unfolds across Australia and New Zealand. There is betrayal but it’s not clear who should be forgiven and who should forgive.

 Wheeler relishes freedom, music and the sea. Freya is engrossed with the past, and Nicky takes solace in nature, believing  parents should never be trusted, as she adapts to a remote island, its ownership contentious, the night sky raucous with birdlife.

 Migrating birds return and an eclectic assortment of visitors arrive, but there’s about to be a reckoning. Life after the island will never be the same, and while for Nicky disaster begins with a leaf slowly falling in 1984, a fateful phone call in 2000 while she’s working in Sydney will challenge her perspective on the past and her relationship with her mother.

 Beneath the Wild Fig Tree interweaves these two transformative years into a kaleidoscopic coming of age story that explores the complexities of relationships, the interplay of grief and happiness, transience and interconnectedness, while celebrating the luminosity of the natural world.

This is a novel that will particularly appeal to readers who enjoy strong characters, a hint of intrigue, the tang of the ocean and a vibrant sense of place.