Edith and Frances, living with their mother on a tiny farm in the south-east of Australia, are visited by their cousin Leopold and his Armenian friend Aram. The two young men are taking the long way home after working on an archaeological dig in Iraq. It is 1937. The modern world they say, is waiting to erupt. Among the tales they tell is the story of Gilgamesh, the legendary king of Uruk, in ancient Mesopotamia. Gilgamesh's great journey of mourning after the death of his friend Enkidu, and his search for the secret of eternal life, is to resonate through all of their lives. In 1939 Edith and her young child set off on an impossible journey of their own, to find themselves trapped by the outbreak of war. The story of this journey is the story of encounters and escapes, of friendship and love, of loss and acceptance.

2003, International Dublin Literary Award, Long-listed

2002, Miles Franklin Literary Award, Short-listed

2002, NSW Literary Awards (prev. NSW Premier's Literary Awards) Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, Short-listed

2004, Orange Prize for Fiction, Long-listed

2002, The Age Book of the Year Award Fiction, Winner

2002, Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Fiction, Short-listed

2003, Tasmania Pacific Rim Region Prize, Short-listed