When fire devastates the Cleary’s Creek gold mine in outback Western Australia, the operation is abandoned, along with a hidden stash of gold illegally collected over the years by the mechanic Tom Bosich. Gold prices were low and the economics of keeping the mine running made no sense. Tom planned to collect the gold later anyway, but life moved on.

Forty years later, truck driver and bush artist Carter De Freitas and his artist companion Elise Alquist have taken a week’s leave to paint scenes of the old mine workings. When Carpenter, De Freitas’ dog, discovers human remains in an abandoned shaft, interest in old Tom’s rumoured cache resurfaces. A cold-case investigation of the body means De Freitas must stay in the district instead of returning to his driving job, much to the annoyance of trucking company boss, Don Mooney.

Curiosity in the fabled gold has gently bubbled below the surface in nearby Southern Cross over the years but, with increased gold prices, interest in the Cleary’s Creek reserves, both known and hidden, has heightened. City prospectors, disgruntled farmers and district identities are all interested in the fabled cache.

More bodies are found, and investigations reveal several ‘people of interest’ may have had motives for their demise. De Freitas and Elise are involved in the police investigations.

An intriguing mesh of motives and methods provides the framework for this story, in which colourful characters offer an insight into outback life, and the mystery surrounding the missing gold.

Is the cache real, or just scuttlebutt?

The story, a prime example of the Australian red dirt crime genre, has the elements of a modern Western.