In this award-winning work of fiction, Ellen van Neerven leads readers on a journey that is mythical, mystical and still achingly real. Over three parts, van Neerven takes traditional storytelling and gives it a unique, contemporary twist. In ' Heat' , we meet several generations of the Kresinger family and the legacy left by the mysterious Pearl. In ' Water' , a futuristic world is imagined and the fate of a people threatened. In ' Light' , familial ties are challenged and characters are caught between a desire for freedom and a sense of belonging. Heat and Light is an intriguing collection that heralded the arrival of a major new talent in Australian writing.