A tale of mining, commitment and memory, Hollow Air comes to life with parallel tales against a vivid backdrop of shimmering mirages and twisting shadows. Out there, nobody is telling the whole story – their secrets are buried deep in the ground. As well as considering the human and environmental costs of mining, Verity Borthwick’s tale delves into the hidden pathways in the earth and in ourselves – and their very real risk of collapse.

Sarah is a geologist, more comfortable by herself than she is back home with her fiancé, or surrounded by the blokey energy of her FIFO colleagues. But these days the company isn’t doing very well, and Sarah is at the site alone under immense pressure to find signs of hidden value. Her comfortable solitude is interrupted by a new team: Ian, the green field assistant and son of one of the board members; Norm, a craggy older geologist; Joe, the local troublemaker who holds a shameful secret over Sarah; and Cole, the fascinating, cave-diving risk-taker, who sleeps barely a wall away and hides something mysterious behind much thicker defences.

It’s 1910, and Samuel has already lost so much. He’s had to sell the mine, though no price could buy back what has been taken from him. Returning to the mine is possibly the biggest mistake of his life, but perhaps just one lucky find could change his family’s fortunes, and those of Thomas, his eager young assistant.

These two protagonists, separated by time but not geography, both feel the immense pressure of reality pressing down on them, but in the rugged outback, there’s a sense of peace, and, maybe, hope. But will desperation push them to take risks, trust people and do things they shouldn’t?