A powerfully realised novel that weaves the past with the present and the real with the imaginary. In Winstone's imagination, the Kid and his partner ride through the Wild West on the trail of their quarry. In Winstone's actual life, he's had to abandon his 'partner' and is hiding out in the tough landscape of Central Otago. What has this boy run from, and how will the resilient and engaging twelve-year-old survive? This moving, inventive and hard-hitting novel will remain with you long after you have finished the last page. 'Her talent with prose is far reaching; her ability to pluck a clever phrase from a seemingly inexhaustible well of fluid imagination quite stunning.' - Michael Larsen, Weekend Herald Longlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Book Awards: 'An unusually subtle treatment of crime . . . Brilliantly paced and plotted, very seriously discomforting reading. A psychological thriller . . . a ripper.'