National Network for Equitable Library Service

A bet in half-jest, a ruby and a passionate love affair take a man and a woman in an unexpected direction... Sydney, 1936, and the gorgeous Greta Osborne is a burgeoning stage star about to join the famous Palace Theatre in New York. But meeting married British naval officer Andrew Flight changes everything. Falling recklessly and deeply in love, Greta waives aside any thoughts of America and Andrew jumps ship. The pair flee to a small tobacco town in Far North Queensland, where their arrival is viewed with suspicion and speculation. Caught up in the social unrest and hardship of the Great Depression, the couple is soon pushed further north to a remote island in Papua New Guinea, where they hope to settle and at last find peace. Bravely battling disapproval, disappointment and near-tragic loss, together the pair's sustaining love helps them laugh, triumph and take on the world.