This latest visit to Lang Downs was simply incredible. Ms Tachna concentrated much of the story on Ian and Thorne, two badly damaged individuals from completely different backgrounds. Ian has been living on the station for years getting along with everyone and doing his job yet he was a bit of an enigma. Wildfires due to an extra dry summer brought Thorne onto the scene as a fire fighter and liaison to Lang Downs. Retired from a life in the Commandos, Australia's elite fighting force, Thorne is a bit of a loner and a lost soul with no real home. Lang Downs and Ian change all of that and offer Thorne a home and a job but a bad case of PTSD has him jumpy and unsteady. In love but messed up mentally, Ian and Thorne take to a road to recovery and stability proving that with the love of the right person, a good support system and determination that most demons can be exorcised. I enjoyed this touching story tremendously because it delved deeply into the personalities of both men while still building on the large cast of characters from the previous books. The timeline from book one until this fourth book flowed seamlessly which is a testament to the writing skills of Ms Tachna. There is plenty of angst in this story but there is a very real celebration of life that has carried through this entire series. I hope to read more about Lang Downs and the wonderfully diverse family they have created in the rugged outback. ( )