This novella is set across the course of a single in the semi - urban farmland in Perth’s outer eastern suburbs. It is the tightly woven story of 8 year old Amanda, her father Dave (locked up in nearby Acacia Prison), Ant (Dave’s son), Rua (a Thai bride and Dave’s lover, who has just died from an AIDS related illness) and Rattuwat (Rua’s father, come out to Australia for his daughter’s funeral). Gothic in tone, full of suspense, and multi - layered, HARMLESS was inspired by The Jataka, the stories of the Buddha’s former births. The author began with novel with a selection of stories from The Jataka and recast them into a single narrative and contemporary Australian context.