The Peripheral

Travelling home on the 5.39 from Wynyard, Sydney based solicitor Rene freezes in her seat as she glances at the cover of a book another passenger is holding. Why does the title of the book spark off a series of nightmares and strange memories for her?

Rene, troubled, opens an old suitcase of her father's, left untouched since his death.

Inside, Rene finds photographs of a young boy holding her as a baby, along with a poem, a half-knitted scarf, some toys, and a birth certificate.

To discover the truth behind what has so obviously been kept a secret, Rene must travel to India, the country of her birth, despite the distressing experiences she had during her last visit there.

Far away Nimesh has been living a lie, a life met with fear, hostility, often violence. Two seekers are on their own voyage of discovery. Will they find what they are looking for?

A migrant herself, author Meena Mahanty Kumar provides us endearing and thought-provoking glimpses of migrant life with its culture shock and the challenges that come from straddling two worlds.