The room rustled as the children looked around. They knew no one had been to the coast but they checked in case for liars, for the too-dumb to know the difference between the real world and the television, for the dreamers.

A young boy yearns for a rabbit; a man battles for his father’s love; a group of middle-class Australians find themselves in a newly renovated house; and an elderly refugee worries about his daughter’s sea voyage. Seabirds Crying in the Harbour Dark is about seeking refuge, about how we define home and what makes us feel safe.

The stories in this collection ask a simple question: what does it mean to live with compassion and kindness?

‘[Cole] writes without the guilt that has been so debilitating to our political and intellectual culture. She doesn’t engage with debates about guilt or blame, neither fending them off nor joining the chorus of mea culpa. She brings an awareness to attitudes of mind that Australian readers will recognize.‘ Drusilla Modjeska, The Monthly