The Undertow

by Christopher Wakling

Wilson Taylor is a successful man: the owner of a thriving high-risk business, he has also raised his beloved daughter Anna almost single-handedly since infancy. But nothing can prepare him for the call he receives from Doctor Jo Hoffman, explaining how Anna, now nineteen and travelling abroad, has been gravely injured while swimming in Australia's Byron Bay.

Wilson rushes to the other side of the world, ready to assess the situation and fix it. And though the police are convinced it was an accident, Wilson's own investigation convinces him someone is to blame. Who was Anna's travelling companion and why did he abandon her? Who is the sinister blackmailer threatening Wilson . . . and how did they get those photos?

Interspersed with Anna's own account of her travels, Wilson's quest takes him far from his daughter's bedside and deep into the Australian bush. But how much does he really know - or want to know - about his own child?

In this tautly written, vividly compelling novel, Christopher Wakling explores the subjective nature of relationships, truth and perception, and the illusion that we are in control of our lives.

300 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 2006

About the author

Christopher George Wakling was born in 1970. He studied English at Oxford and has worked as a farm hand, teacher and lawyer. He has written four novels: Towards the Sun, The Undertow, Beneath the Diamond Sky and On Cape Three Points. The first three were literary thrillers, published under the name Christopher Wakling, but his latest book, Towards the Sun, isn’t thrilling at all, so he’s published it as Christopher George. This name decision is a publishing thing. Some books are translated into Dutch, French, Spanish and Italian. Christopher George Wakling is the Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at Bristol University. From time to time he teaches creative writing for the Arvon Foundation, and writes travel journalism for The Independent. Married with two children, he lives in Bristol.
- From author's website