AustLit

'It's 1969 and mankind has leapt up to the moon, but a young mother in small town Australia can't get past the kitchen door. The day is unravelling for Louise Ashland; her husband is away on the road, her mother won't leave her alone, and her baby, Dolores, won't stop screaming. Or wouldn't stop screaming - now she's sweetly sleeping. Or is she?

'Louise's mother, former beauty queen Gladys, claims to know why Louise is suddenly refusing to admit her into the house, and she recruits a small army, including her much-maligned son-in-law Steven, to try and infiltrate. Meanwhile, Steven's infidelity has led to blackmail and all the clues seem to lead right back to his mother-in-law Gladys, for whom the line between protection and annihilation seems mighty thin. When Steven sends his best friend, a cop, to check on his wife, and Gladys makes a final attempt to 'rescue' her, the stage is set for an apocalypse.

'The silence finally broken on the family secrets, Louise must decide once and for all whether she is or isn't 'like Mother.''(Publication summary)