"the home grown version of Wilbur Smith" The Sunday Age

Against the backdrop of impending war and the rise of the Nazi Party, the epic saga of the Macintosh and Duffy families continues.

It's 1936. While Europe is starting to feel the shadow of the upcoming turmoil, George Macintosh is determined to keep control of his business empire. He takes extreme measures to prevent his nephew David from taking a seat on the Board. Meanwhile, George's son Donald is packed off to the family station Glen View in Northern Queensland in an effort to curb his excesses.

In Iraq, Captain Matthew Duffy doesn't escape the stain of growing fanaticism. Recruited by British Intelligence, he once more faces a German enemy, although this one has a more pleasing aspect. Matthew is confused by his attraction to Diane and finds himself having to make a hard decision. And just as he is coming to terms with his choice, he meets his estranged son, James Barrington Jnr.

In the middle of all this upheaval, the two families experience loss, love, greatness and tragedy, and find themselves brought closer together and pulled further apart. Romance blooms in the unlikeliest of hearts under the gathering clouds of war.

PRAISE FOR THE SERIES

"A rousing and revealing yarn" Weekend Australian

"the historical detail brings the ... 19th century to rip-roaring life" The Australian

"Watt's fans love his work for its history, adventure and storytelling" Brisbane News