The Invaders

Set in northern Australia's Victoria River region, the narrative interweaves three eras. In 1839 British explorer, Stokes, finds oily sludge in water wells on the banks of the river. In 1942 Nackeroo corporal, Ash, believes a German-born missionary is collaborating with Japanese invasion plans. Aided by Aboriginal tracker, Gabriel, Ash stalks, determined to find out the truth... In 1987 after a drilling rig accident geologist, Brad, meets hospital nurse, Karen, the missionary's granddaughter and Karen introduces Brad to Ash, now their guardian. In a turn of events, Brad also meets Gabriel, now a land rights activist. A drilling program is suspended in the wake of the world stock market crash. Brad, guided by Ash, takes Karen to look for Stokes' water wells and the mission ruins. Brad and Karen are unaware Ash has their own plan... Gabriel also knows more than Brad and Karen could anticipate... "Rick Wilkinson knows how to keep readers turning the pages. With deft story-telling he weaves three narratives together and takes us into the resources industry and into areas of Australia's defences during WW11 that are rarely explored in fiction. The Invaders pulls off the difficult trick of being both entertaining and informative." Robert Gott, crime novelist "Set in the Northern Territory, The Invaders is a Tour de Force where damaged individuals cannot escape a past that embraces a breathtakingly vivid history from the voyage of the Beagle to the Japanese threat in WWII to oil exploration in the eighties." Kerry Cue, author, journalist, mathematician   "Rick Wilkinson is a worthy successor to Ion Idriess, the adventurous author of tales from Australia's wild deep north. Rick's tragic story is informed by his vast personal knowledge of the geography and geology of the region, the petroleum exploration industry and of historical events." Noel Bushnell, veteran journalist, The Traveller blogger