The Paperbark Shoe

From 1941 to 1947, 18,000 Italian prisoners of war were sent to Australia. The surrender of Mussolini in 1943 created a novel circumstance: prisoners who were no longer enemies. Due to a shortage of guards and their new status as friendlies, many of these exiles were sent to work on isolated farms, unguarded. This is the unforgettable story of a woman named Gin Boyle. An albino, a classically trained pianist, and a woman with a painful past, Gin's ghostly skin and transparent white hair have made her an outcast since birth. Disavowed by her wealthy step-father, her unlike saviour is the farmer Mr Toad - a little man, with a taste for ladies corsets.