John Paul Young

Former special services agent plays an intricate game of chess involving several federal agencies. Queen takes pawn.

The Brookedale Psychiatric Hospital is a crumbling institution which barely has enough money to remain open. Formerly a prison, it sits atop a warren of tunnels and sewage system viaducts. But Brookdale has a secret - a secret known by only one person. There's something living in the tunnels - something that's developed a taste for human blood...

The story is set in the quiet, fictional town of Ouro Velho. Sofia Schnaider is a striking woman of great class and intelligence, possessing strong ethical values ​​inherited from her Jewish family, who emigrated to Brazil after the war. Following the death of her husband—the aristocrat Victor Sousa Carvalho—Sofia takes over the family business, Estrela Dourada, which operates water-based tourism activities on the large local reservoir. However, her mother-in-law, Úrsula, refuses to accept this arrangement and launches a fierce battle for control of the Sousa Carvalho business empire.

Thousands of youth hopefuls from all over Australia go through a fly-on-the-wall insight where talented musicians/singers go through stages of elimination where by a select few are given a record contract.