Philip Roberts

Melody returns home to Fairlands for the funeral of her estranged daughter June. But the town has almost disappeared under the encroaching desert. She also has to confront the fact that she has a 10-year-old grandson, River, whose existence she knew nothing about. Melody decides to take River away with her but he resists. He has worked out a plan to survive by breeding the ostriches he and his mother used to feed.