Into the Fire

A year after her best friend died in a house fire, Lara can't come to terms with the loss. Logic says there was no more she could have done to save the mercurial and unhappy Alice, but Lara can't escape the feeling that she is somehow to blame for the tragedy.

She spends a weekend at the rebuilt house with Alice's charismatic widower, Crow, and his three young children. Rummaging through the remains of their shared past, Lara reveals a friendship with Alice that was as troubled as it was intense. But beneath the surface is a darker, more unsettling secret waiting to be exposed.

Through exquisite prose and searing insight, Into the Fire explores the many ways, small and large, we betray one another and our ideals. It's a compelling story about power, guilt and womanhood from an outstanding voice in Australian fiction.