One day she discovers she has polio and the novel follows her long road to recovery and the subsequent discovery of her gifts as a painter .
Roberta ( Bertie ) Lightfoot moves from post-war Melbourne and Sydney in the 1950s to post-colonial frontier town , Port Moresby .
One day Lightfoot discovers Lightfoot has polio and the novel follows Lightfoot 's long road to recovery and the subsequent discovery of her gifts as a painter .
Roberta ( Bertie ) Lightfoot moves from post-war Melbourne and Sydney in the 1950s to post-colonial frontier town , Port Moresby .