Acts of Mutiny — Derek Beaven

In 1959, young Ralph travels to Australia on an ocean liner with his mother and her smooth-talking American lover, Mr. Chaunteyman. As the three journey from England, Ralph witnesses the beginning of another love affair--this one between two other passengers: Penny, sailing to meet her husband in Adelaide, and Robert, a young man on his way to work at a satellite tracking station. Along with these voyagers, the ship is carrying a deadly cargo whose lethal potential gradually comes to light as the Armorica sails onward. Brimming with unforgettable descriptons of the sea, Acts of Mutiny is the story of Ralph's own memory and what he comes to suspect is a misremembered past--a voyage with undercurrents of sexual tension and betrayal that offers him a glimpse of something much larger than his boy's eyes could understand.