Life spins stories around us as we slide through time, anchored by our secrets. Tristram Jones has an opal that is of deep significance to his teacher, Ivan MacAllister: a compelling and charismatic mentor haunted by a trauma caused by the witch doctor, Dinewan. Named after the Great Emu Spirit of the Dreamtime, is Dinewan just a bitter, hateful misfit, whose mind has been warped by an old family legend... or something far more dangerous? Tristram is haunted too, by dreams that feel like memories, of a terrifying monster that is waiting to pounce from the still waters of the billabong. A web of stories surrounds Tristam and Ivan, and the truth of them must come out as life goes on with adventure, romance, and danger. The witch doctor is coming, and he will have his due. is a modern tale influenced by much older stories and spiced with science, legend and sensual experiences. It is gruesome in places, funny in others and tender where it counts.