Cockle Bay

Set in southern New Zealand during the 1970's, Cockle Bay explores the social connections and disconnections that develop when two very different social cliques with opposing views and values overlap. Against a backdrop of immigration hassles, culture clash, alcohol and drug abuse issues and the environmental protest movement, the story takes a close look at how important it is to choose your friends carefully. The central character Meg is a gutsy, self-reliant young woman who lives with Luke, a restless, damaged American Vietnam war veteran in a small alternative village just north of Dunedin. The local psychiatric hospital provides employment for them both and any obstacles getting in the way of fun party times are overlooked. She fools herself that everything is on track and congratulates herself that by teaming up with her exciting exotic boyfriend she has escaped a boring domestic existence. However, she finds herself on shaky ground when Luke teams up with a bunch of speedy high-flyers and leaves the laid back peaceful times to head for the fast lane. He is lured by the temptation of easy money and is forced to leave the country when he owns up to an incident in his past. The usually empathetic Meg begins to doubt his integrity, but not until after he mysteriously disappears is the full extent of the dark web of deceit revealed. For support in Luke's absence, she slips into a raunchy liaison with Tim, his dubious friend who is battling his own crippling demons. Stuck in emotional turmoil, Meg confronts the flimsy foundations on which her trust has been built and her own limitations. Caught between two opposing worlds - a fast, exciting, frivolous one with dark undertones and a more relaxed, lighter one with enduring depth - she flounders. Her reliance on outside help rather than listening to her own inner voice initially hinders her ability to handle the perplexity of loyalty and the nuances of love. Over the summer months, with wavering confidence, Meg bravely attempts to invite fresh possibilities into her life in search of a solid place she can call her own.