East

The borders have been for 700 years. Elias has been arrested for crossing into the forbidden zones. Barrak must end his self-imposed exile and return to the city, to get to the bottom of his young friend's disappearance.He finds the capital tense with talk of rebellion and security chief, Meldrick; tightening his grip on power. Allying himself with Jasmyn - the feisty and beautiful astrologer he has known since childhood - Barrak becomes witness to a conspiracy at the core of the military establishment.But power is not all Meldrick wants …he also wants Jasmyn.When parliament is suspended and martial law imposed; Barrak and Jasmyn are cast as enemies of the new order. They must flee Eyre.Crossing the mountains into the border zones they encounter enigmatic rebel leader, Gitan, who has knowledge of Elias' travels. As Meldrick's forces close in to crush the rebels, Gitan urges Barrak and Jasmyn to travel east; beyond the forbidden zones, where - according to Eyrean myth and legend - only chaos and desolation prevail. Only there, he tells them, might answers be found to Elias' disappearance.In the harshness of the forbidden zones and the vast wilderness beyond, they will soon learn that humankind has re-invented itself in surprising ways, since The Fall... from gentle hunter gatherers living off the land, to blood-thirsty bandits with an appetite for slaves and flesh.If they can survive the ruthless bandits; man-eating predators and the attentions of a charismatic rescuer, turned terrifying monster; they might yet starve to death - hopelessly lost in an unforgiving wilderness.Rescued by a father and son on a hunting sortie, they find refuge with the 'Dzahn' people and the urge to continue their hazardous journey diminishes as they settle into the seductive simplicity of village life.But the gentle hunter gatherers are hiding something. Below the surface of their seemingly idyllic existence lurks a mysterious threat - of which they will not even speak.Jasmyn's worst fears are realized when the Dzahn village is attacked by a savage and unspeakably brutal enemy. She and Barrak find themselves again travelling east into the wilderness; this time in chains - bound for slavery or worse at the hands of the vicious 'Na-bool'.When all seems lost, they are rescued by a mysterious military patrol, which has crossed their path by chance. Barrak and Jasmyn find themselves on the move again, under the protection of the unit's inscrutable leader, Striker.Travelling further east under Striker's protection, it becomes apparent these must be the easterners encountered by Elias. But can Striker be trusted? He seems to have little respect for the wayward Eyreans and Striker's revelations about life in the East seem outlandishly at odds with the Eyrean world view.The prospect of safety and civilisation sets a spark to the romantic tension which has simmered between Barrak and Jasmyn for so long.By the time they reach the Easterners' harbour city; built around the ruins of a vast and sophisticated ancient civilisation, Barrak and Jasmyn will come to doubt all the so-called truths of their insular Eyrean culture; even their calendar - which the easterners insist is 2100 years out of whack.But the easterners themselves are under threat from a powerful enemy from beyond their own shores.Strangely, there seems to be a connection between the invading enemy in the east and Meldrick's wicked machinations in distant Eyre. And it seems Barrak's missing friend Elias may hold the key understanding it all...