Heather Rose has set this novel in the south of Tasmania. It is November 2021 and the bridge being built between the Tasmanian mainland and Bruny Island is nearing completion. Then early one morning part of the the bridge collapses after a bomb explosion. The premier announces that the bridge will be rebuilt by the beginning of March with the assistance of teams of Chinese workmen brought to Australia to do the work.
Astrid (Ace) Coleman is summoned from New York to return to Hobart to act as an arbitrator between the various parties for and against the building of the bridge. The Coleman family are prominent in Tasmanian politics with her father a former long time member of parliament, her brother the current premier and her sister leader of the opposition. The family situation is further complicated by her mother receiving cancer treatment and her father only speaking in Shakespearean quotes after a stroke.
This novel contains many political themes including foreign investment and interference in another government, the increasing power of China in the region, references to current events in the USA, climate change etc. Ace takes some time discovering what is really going on in Tasmanian and Australian politics and who she can trust. The book also explores family relationships. It is some time into the novel before the reader learns the real reason why Ace has returned to Australia.
