A Caramel Sky

The dreams of two young lovers are shattered when a small nation at the ripple-edge of the world is plunged into war.Grace Freeman, the daughter of an English immigrant family, leaves her home in Auckland to join the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, in a bid for independence from a controlling mother. Charlie Harrison, an inventive electrical engineer, is sent by the Royal New Zealand Air Force to set up communications and intelligence-gathering operations throughout the island chains of the Pacific.Separated from his secret fiancee, Charlie and his team of 'telemechs' face dangers from the sea and air, and in the disease-infested jungle of Bougainville. Badly injured, his letters unanswered and his life torn apart by an ill-fated marriage, only his deep connection with Grace sustains him.Will Grace and Charlie find each other again?Forty-five years later, an unexpected reunion uncovers the family secrets that have kept them apart.
A Caramel Sky is an evocation of the sentiments and manners of a forgotten time. In a remarkable debut novel that is full of surprises, Hazlehurst weaves a vivid story of friendship, spirited adventure and enduring love.