In the sun-scorched Riverina, water is more precious than gold – and just as deadly. District Superintendent Sandy Pelham arrives in Wagga Wagga to find a community torn apart by megadrought, where wealthy cotton growers thrive while farmers abandon their land and towns survive on bottled water. As Pelham investigates a surge in methamphetamine production, he uncovers a web of corruption that leads straight to his predecessor.When Commonwealth Water Security officer Mick Darby joins the hunt, they discover cotton baron Hardyn Brack's illegal water empire is slowly choking the life from the Murray-Darling Basin. But they're not alone – Lucas, a tech-savvy activist turned meth cook, is plotting his own violent revenge. In a land where water means life, three men are on a collision course that will determine the future of Australia's most precious resource. Joe Moore was CEO of an international conflict management company, so he knows first-hand about corruption, conflict and violence. False Reckoning, his debut fiction novel about government ministers corrupted by prosperity gospel pastors was published in 2023. Joe has published over forty nonfiction articles on conflict and violence and is co-author of a nonfiction book on Instructional Design.He lives with his wife Janice in the Blue Mountains, walking, gardening, reading and writing.
