It mainly follows the stories of two children in a town in rural New South Wales across three decades at the start of the 20th century.
The primary protagonist, Jackie Hanna, is born a "dwarf" in 1907 to Walter and Peggy Hanna, two grocers in Kingsland, NSW. Jackie's father Walter dies during his childhood, and his mother remarries to a veteran of the Boer War. The secondary protagonist, Dorothy "Cushie" Moy, is born to a wealthy family; her father is a banker and her mother the daughter of a newspaper tycoon. In their youth, the two protagonists fall in love, and much of the book arcs around the circumstances and misfortunes that keep them apart. In particular, a substantial portion of the book focuses on Jackie's experiences as a migrant worker through the Great Depression in Australia, including interactions with New South Wales Premier Jack Lang.
The book is divided into six chapters:
1. Jackie Hanna, Cushie Moy 1907–1918
2. Jackie Hanna 1924
3. Cushie Moy 1924–1925
4. Jackie Hanna 1924–1929
5. Jackie Hanna 1931
6. Jackie Hanna, Cushie Moy 1931–1932
Critical reception
Hope Hewitt in The Canberra Times was not overly impressed: "The symbols tinkle cornily over every page, not just swords and crowns and rings, but dwarfs and clocks and gold and many more, all familiar. The language is heavy with
adjectives and cliches, and at no point does a distinctive voice emerge from this syruped version of Sydney in the bad old days."[2]
