Faith and Evelyn are close friends, neighbours, and single mothers ofLuke and of Mitch – and both bear the scars of the trauma of colonisationand the Stolen Generations. When Faith dies unexpectedly, a chain ofevents unfolds that will forever alter the lives of those left behind.As Luke faces upheaval and is propelled into the volatility of the fostersystem, Evelyn desperately tries to save him from the unending spiralof cruelty, poverty and disconnection from kin into which he descends,while the spectre of incarceration looms.The Leaves is a bittersweet meditation on motherhood and loss, onthe power of female friendship and the role of the state in perpetuatingviolence.Through Luke's journey and Evelyn's own pursuit of justice, The Leavesraises larger questions about the brutality and futility of Australia's youthdetention system, the entrenchment of disadvantage, and the failure toacknowledge the ongoing effects of historical crimes committed againstIndigenous people.Will there be justice for Luke? Or will he be another invisible casualtyof a broken system?