A family drama unfolds across a Bass Strait island, Hobart, Sydney and Adelaide. Should betrayal be forgiven, and if so, who should forgive and who should be forgiven? Wheeler is a traveller who relishes freedom. Freya is engrossed with the past, and Ninka believe that parents should never be trusted, particularly after they move to a far-flung island raucous with birdlife. Migrating birds return and an eclectic assortment of visitors arrive, but all the time, beneath the surface of their everyday life, there’s a fast, dark river flowing, full of secrets, betrayals and lies. There’s about to be a reckoning. Life after the island will never be the same, and while for Nicky the unravelling began with a leaf slowly falling in 1984, a fateful phone call in 2000 will challenge her perspective on the past. Beneath the Wild Fig Tree interweaves these two transformative years into a kaleidoscopic story that explores the complexities of relationships, coming of age, grief and happiness, the nature of love and the luminosity of the natural world. This is a novel that will particularly appeal to readers who enjoy strong characters, a hint of intrigue, the tang of the ocean and a vibrant sense of place.