A Caramel Sky

The dreams of two young lovers are shattered when a small nation at the ripple-edge of the world is plunged into war. Grace Freeman, the daughter of an English immigrant family, leaves her home in Auckland to join the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, in a bid for independence from a controlling mother. Charlie Harrison, an inventive electrical engineer, is sent by the Royal New Zealand Air Force to set up communications and intelligence-gathering operations throughout the island chains of the Pacific. Separated from his secret fiancee, Charlie and his team of 'telemechs' face dangers from the sea and air, and in the disease-infested jungle of Bougainville. Badly injured, his letters unanswered and his life torn apart by an ill-fated marriage, only his deep connection with Grace sustains him. Will Grace and Charlie find each other again? Forty-five years later, an unexpected reunion uncovers the family secrets that have kept them apart. A Caramel Sky is an evocation of the sentiments and manners of a forgotten time. In a remarkable debut novel that is full of surprises, Hazlehurst weaves a vivid story of friendship, spirited adventure and enduring love.