Gabe has known the sheriff for many years and trusts him. The small (fictional) town of Jakob’s Creek is the hub of what passes for civilisation in the story, with a pub, a cop shop, and a small medical centre. And of course, like the rest of the world, there are illegal firearms, and we see plenty of them aimed at Gabe and Amin. But Amin says nowhere is safe, because the people-smugglers still have his family, and there are crooked cops in on the trade.Īustralia is known for gun control, but there are plenty of licensed firearms for farmers and hunters and people like Gabe, who use them as part of their business. He really does not want to get involved and wishes he could offload Amin somewhere safe. Gabe is a widower, missing his wife, and he has been alone a long time. Amin has obviously entered the country from somewhere along the west coast, from the Indian Ocean, this takes place in the parched rugged area further inland. This is the Australian west, not the tropical and semi-tropical east coast or the more highly-populated, cosmopolitan areas around the edges of the continent. Meanwhile, the villains, people-smugglers, have escaped. He manages to rescue one captive, Amin, whom he bandages up. While he’s tiptoeing around in the bush, in an Aboriginal reserve area he’s not allowed to trap in, he comes across an execution. But I digress for non-Australian readers. It’s a workhorse, not a pretty, low-slung ‘town’ ute, which is more like a station wagon with only the front cabin and an open back end.

His ute is a Toyota Landcruiser, a 4x4 light truck with a small bench seat behind the front seats for storage. Stained with kangaroo blood, spilled diesel and all manner of giveaway scents, these never saw the ground within cooee of a trap site.” He padded around to the driver’s door and, once inside the cab, slipped on his work boots. Gabe kicked off his sneakers, tucked them into their designated pocket on the tray, and lowered the mesh security cage surrounding the canopy’s steel frame, locking the panels and zipping up the canvas flaps. “‘Leave no sign, leave no trace.’ That was his rule. He has a ute that is completely fitted out for trapping and living in the bush for extended periods. Gabe is an old dogger, dog-trapper (of dingos and feral dogs), and like some of the cunning old dogs, he has accumulated a collection of tricks to hide his tracks – tricks we’d probably never think of. ‘God forgot about these parts a long time ago.’” Gabe scoffed and looked about the parched landscape. Alhamdulillah Shukur, I think the wound is not too bad.’ Amin gave him a pained smile.

Australian wild dogs