Summary

In Chapter 8, Nathan wanders around the family house, and eventually stops in front of Cam's famous painting of the stockman's grave. It had won awards, and had been praised for its symbolism of loneliness and grief among other things. Nathan claims he was never fond of the painting.

Eventually Ilse comes into the room, and she and Nathan can only exchange a few words until, finally, Ilse asks Nathan what he thinks of the situation with Cameron. Nathan does not answer right away, and instead he recalls the moment when the two of them met. It was at the town pub, she was the bartender, and they sat alone and drank talking about her journey that brought her to the outback. Nathan visited her until he was banned from the city. He does not specify why. The discussion between Ilse and Nathan...