Even though it’s a scorching summer afternoon, Garth and his friends are hard at work, thinning trees to earn money for a trip to Fiji. They notice a small fire, but before they can put it out flames have completely engulfed a pine tree . . . and then another. And another.

As panic rises, an eerie silence falls until there's a thunderous explosion and the entire clearing erupts in flames: the fire is crowning, and all they can do is run for their lives. Dodging burning embers, unable to hear each other over the fire’s deafening roar, hoping to find a ditch, a trench, any protection at all, Garth wonders — how can they all possibly survive?

With powerful realism, David Hill evokes the sheer gut-wrenching terror of being caught up in an inferno as well as the resourcefulness bred by utter desperation.