The Lost Man

“The circle in the dust fell just short of one full revolution. Just short of twenty-four hours. And then, at last, the stockman finally had company, as the earth turned and the shadow moved on alone, and the man lay still in the center of a dusty grave under a monstrous sky.”

In the Prologue, Cam’s death scene is described by an anonymous narrator watching from a birds-eye view. This short section establishes the harsh, unforgiving environment of the outback and its role as the unrelenting force that shapes the characters’ lives and deaths. This section also introduces the stockman’s grave, which plays a pivotal role in both the plot and meaning of the novel.

“Nathan walked around the four-wheel drive and, for the second time that day, felt something shift and tilt off-center. The exterior was completely unremarkable. It was dirty and stone-chipped, but he could see nothing wrong with it. He felt an unpleasant, cool prickle at the base of his neck. Nothing was wrong, and that in itself felt very wrong indeed.”

Nathan examines Cam’s car, which is undamaged. This makes Nathan suspicious. Cam knows the cardinal rule of the outback is to never leave your car. Leaving a functioning vehicle is unthinkable. Nathan will become the detective in this mystery novel—he immediately begins questioning the circumstances of Cam’s death.

“Their brother didn’t look injured, at least not in the traditional sense. But heat and thirst did terrible things to a person. He had started to remove his clothes as logic had deserted him, and his skin was cracked. Whatever had been going through Cameron’s mind when he was alive, he didn’t look peaceful in death.”

Harper reinforces the brutal nature of the outback by describing what Cam went through as he died. Nathan isn’t sure if Cam did this purposefully, as this reference to his state of mind makes that clear. He questions whether Cam’s death was self-inflicted, and this question will drive his investigation.