Edith and Frances, living with their mother on a tiny farm in the south-western corner of Australia, are visited by their cousin Leopold and his Armenian friend Aram. The two young men are taking the long way home after working on an archaeological dig in Iraq. It is 1937 and the modern world is waiting to erupt.Edith and Frances, living with their mother on a tiny farm in the south-western corner of Australia, are visited by their cousin Leopold and his Armenian friend Aram. The two young men are taking the long way home after working on an archaeological dig in Iraq. It is 1937 and the modern world is waiting to erupt. Winner of Age Book of the Year: Fiction 2002. Short-listed for Tasmania Pacific Rim Region Prizes: Fiction 2003 and Miles Franklin Literary Award 2002 and NSW Premier's Literary Award Christina Stead Prize for Fiction 2002 and Western Australian Premier's Book Awards: Fiction 2001.