'They put us to sleep when they launched us into the darkness of space and time. Painless? I suppose it was. Until the Etlak brought us back to consciousness and I realised that I didn't know where my home was, how far away, or in which direction.Except for Delphinium, I've left behind everyone I care about. They're dead. All of them. I can never go home. Oh, but I want to. So much.While my body was in stasis, my life took a quantum leap and I don't know what will happen to those of us who have survived. Maybe I've gone from one death to another ...'ABOUT THE AUTHORChristine Harris' first collection of short stories, Outer Face (1992), was an instant bestseller and her second and third collections, Buried Secrets (1993) and Party Animals (1995), have established her as one of Australia's leading writers of short stories for young adults.Strike! (1994) set on the Australian waterfront of 1928, was her first novel. In her second, Baptism of Fire (1996), which deals with nineteenth century Fiji, she began to explore in depth the implications of cultural contact, which is the subject of the brilliant collection, Fortune Cookies, and of her award-winning novel, Foreign Devil.Christine lives in the Adelaide hills with her husband David and two children. Among her most recent books are I Don't Want to go to School with Craig Smith, Warped and Hairy Legs with Leigh Hobbs.SELLING POINTS* Sci-fi is hugely popular among older readers and young adults* Will hold appeal for both boys and girls.* Christine is a regular performer in schools and literary events - is well known and loved.* Christine won the horror section for her book Foreign Devil in the 1999 Aurealis Awards.