boy in blue raincoat

Boy in Blue Raincoat is a short and simple story about a boy whose family roots can be traced back to the convict era. Growing up in Eastern Victoria, Australia, in a remote timber mill town in the nineteen sixties, the boy finds solace and joy in the natural environment away from the town. He is a loner, has few friends at school and despised a little by a minority of his teachers due to his father's prison record. Despite this, he has both a great appreciation and love for his dad. The boy finds unexpected true friendship with a Japanese soldier still in hiding from a distant war. Both the boy and the soldier must adjust to the intrusion of a new family into their favourite bush retreat. Also, the boy finds love from the daughter of a wealthy grazier; but just as things are looking up, his whole world is upturned by the unfolding of a train of events beyond his control.