'A lighthouse. A weather station, thousands of miles away. For six months. I drank steadily. With alcohol it all made sense.'

It's the Bicentennial year and for Gordon - failed writer and bottleshop boy - it seems his life is going nowhere. It's time to escape. From his overcrowded house, from Brisbane, from Expo 88, from everything. He stumbles into Wayne who has connections in Darwin and the promise of work. So the two of them head north toward swamps and crocodiles, in search of inspiration, and of their rightful place in the culture of Australia.

1988, McGahan's second novel, is a prequel to his best-selling debut, Praise.

'A fiendish and eventful psychological novel. hugely satisfying.' - New York Times Book Review

'The pre-eminent Australian road novel.' - The Australian