1. Colonisation
2. Friendship
3. Grief
4. Racism
5. Relationship to place

Amy Wilson is a 12-year-old girl from Melbourne, Australia. One summer, she goes to spend some weeks in an outback town near Alice Springs where her Auntie Caroline lives. There she meets an Aboriginal girl named Lana. Both have experienced the recent death of their mothers. At first they stay away from each other, not wanting to become friends. But slowly they become best friends. One night, the two girls find out that someone is stealing from a sacred Aboriginal site. Together Amy and Lana muster up all their courage to save the day.

The two girls’ friendship provides each with cultural insights. Amy learns about the harsh treatment suffered by the Aboriginal people at the hands of the white settlers, her ancestors. Lana comes to appreciate Amy’s and her aunt’s commitment to protect the sacredness of the land.

Cathy Applegate is the author of several books including ‘Where's Itchy’ and ‘Rain Dance’ which was shortlisted in the CBCA Picture Book of the Year Awards in 2001. She is also an accomplished cellist and composer with the Darwin Symphony Orchestra and teaches music. She is a trained doctor and has worked part-time as a GP In Darwin.

1. Cathy Applegate: Composer, Musician, Author - profile in her website http://www.cathy-applegate.com
2. Working with Indigenous Australians First Nations People: Colonisation 1788-1890 http://www.workingwithindigenousaustralians.info/content/History_3_Colonisation.html
3. Australian Government Australian Trade and Investment Commission. ‘Sacred and Heritage Sites’ https://www.austrade.gov.au/land-tenure/Native-title/sacred-and-heritage-sites