Montebello confirms Robert Drewe's place as one of Australia's finest literary voices.

In the sleepy and conservative 1950s the British began a series of nuclear tests in the Montebello archipelago off the west coast of Australia. Even today, few people know about the three huge atom bombs that were detonated there, but they lodged in the consciousness of the young Robert Drewe and would linger with him for years to come.

In this moving, frank yet humorous sequel to The Shark Net, Drewe travels to the Montebellos to visit the territory that has held his imagination since childhood. In the aftermath of both man-made and natural events that have left a permanent mark on the Australian landscape and psyche -- from nuclear tests and the mining boom to shark attacks along the coast -- Drewe examines how comfortable and familiar terrain can quickly become a site of danger, and how regeneration and love can emerge from chaos and loss.

'A beautifully crafted book . . . it switches effortlessly between travel literature, reportage, local history, nature writing and film and literature criticism . . . a perfectly integrated work of art. Drewe's literary instincts are as impeccable as his ear for the English language is unfaltering' Weekend Australian

'Free-ranging . . . entertaining, readable' Northern Rivers Echo

'A fine way for this eminent writer to follow up the brilliant Shark Net' Bendigo Weekly

Robert Drewe was born in Melbourne and grew up on the West Australian coast. His novels and short stories, as well as his prize-winning memoir The Shark Net, have been widely translated and adapted for film, television, radio and theatre around the world. He was literary editor at The Australian before he began writing fiction, and a two-time recipient of the Walkley Award for excellence in journalism.