In 1939, as the Great Depression winds down and war in Europe looms, the small Prairie community of Grayley is all but abandoned. Abel Dodds paces his family's plot, searching for gold his late father buried in an undisclosed location. When his neighbour Jake Wishart drops by to tell Abel he's leaving town and to ask if Abel can keep an eye on his sister, Una, and her son and grandfather, Abel reluctantly agrees.

Abel and the Wisharts prepare for the growing season — their last chance to make a living on their debt-burdened farms. When they hear the news of a visit from the king and queen to rally troops, tensions rise. With little food on their tables and a land turned to dust, the unfailingly optimistic Una is convinced that the royal tour will change their lives for the better. But Abel wants a reckoning.

In this lyrical novel, Nina Berkhout artfully brings into focus a story of hope and disillusionment, of disaster and the cultivation of joy, of the relationship between people and the land they inhabit. (From Goose Lane Editions)

Nina Berkhout is a poet and novelist who currently lives in Ottawa. She is also the author of the novels The Gallery of Lost Species and Why Birds Sing and five poetry collections. Her young adult novel, The Mosaic, was nominated for the White Pine Award and the Ottawa Book Awards.