The Ballad of Banjo Crossing

Jack McPhail is a man on the run from his past, a drifter who lands by accident in the sleepy rural town of Banjo Crossing. Despite himself, Jack becomes slowly drawn into the town, its community, characters and concerns.

He is befriended by Mardi, a young widow and owner of the local coffee shop, and is beginning to explore this relationship when the community is confronted by an unexpected development. A coal-mining company has come to town, intent on buying up the local farming land to build an open-cut mine. Friendships and alliances are tested when the citizens of Banjo Crossing and the farmers of the surrounding Plains face a stark choice – to remain a rural community or become a mining town. Jack wants to help out his new friends, but if he does, he’s at risk of his past being exposed. Having his secret out there could change everything for him. Will he help them out, even if it costs him his second chance at happiness?

A tender, funny, thought-provoking and heartwarming novel about the power of community, love, loss and second chances.

Ideal for readers interested in australian fiction.