Blood flows on the war-torn streets of Masar e-Sharif. To try to cope with that, and barbarous Taliban rule, Soraya illegally reads and attends a secret girls' school. But when her mother is killed in a missile attack, all Soraya's girlish dreams and aspirations appear to be crushed forever. One night, her father mentions a cousin living in the rich country of Australia and tells her she will be going there. To give hope to their family, her captive brother's note says, she must journey to that beautiful, peaceful land of Australia. The first thing she will notice, the people smuggler...

Seven stories, six unique settings, many divergent themes and characters.

Seventeen-year-old Jacob returns to Bali in 'Surfing for Wayan'. Once terrified of surfboards, he's there to surf wild for four people, including his brother killed in the 2002 Bali bombing.

In 'Summits', Lhotse speaks by cell phone to her father who's dying in a blizzard on Mount Everest. Three months later she walks up Nepal's Everest Track to view that mountain and share her thoughts.

A young Afghan reflects on the event that spurred him into becoming a suicide bomber in 'Remembering...

The smirks on their faces and that rubbish-bin needle. Her eyes and nose streaming tears and gunk, and that sleazebag's hands all over her. So give him what he wanted after what he and his mongrel friends did to her? Bitter tears welled up again. 'No, ' Jackson muttered to herself. 'No way.' There was enough anger, stubbornness and pride in her now to do this, if...

Locked up in his solitude, Pete felt lonelier than he ever thought possible. A wave of panic hit him. Jumping out of bed, he groped for his torch and burst out the back door. There were diversions out there:...