Between the wars, New Guinea goldfields attracted colourful characters, and yielded great riches to those who could afford to exploit them. The book also discusses Australias colonial experience under the League of Nations Mandate.

Mansfield Park is in essence a tapestry of allusions to various works of literature and events in history to which Jane Austen left abundant "clues." This book is about finding and interpreting those "clues." Works of literature alluded to include, among others, Spenser's The Faerie Queene, Dante's Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost. Events in history alluded to include the slavery issue of Jane Austen's day, the American Revolution, the Battle of Actium, the Battle of Trafalgar and the then-looming War of 1812.

When the gorgeous Henry Crawford and his pretty sister Mary come to Mansfield Park, they've no idea what a disturbance they will cause. There they find the Bertram family, with their beautiful daughters and handsome sons - and Fanny Price. Eighteen-year-old Fanny has grown up in the shadow of her glamorous relations. In fact, no one seems to remember she's there at all, which is why they don't notice that she's gradually been falling in love. But while she hides a secret passion, she has no idea she's become an object of interest herself for another admirer. As a scandal begins to unfold that will have devastating effects on everyone, Fanny discovers that love will blossom in the most unusual of places...