Chapter 1, The West Summary and Analysis

Conway grew up in the Western Plains of New South Wales, which are grasslands for hundreds of miles until the desert takes over. The plains are full of brush that vary in size and shape depending on whether the ground collects water. The creatures of the area include kangaroos, emus and wild dogs. Only the busy canary and magpie birds sing songs; the rest are silent.

People have lived on the planes for forty thousand years and persisted until white settlers came one hundred and thirty years ago to let their animals graze and grow crops. However, there were never very many Aborigines, and so the white settlers grew up in a unique environment. Land was cheap so long as it was settled. Australia was a land of convicts, a penal colony where men outnumbered women and...