Lisa MacLeod was born in Canada though has spent most of her life in Australia, where her family migrated in her early years. Since graduating, she has primarily worked in welfare in a variety of capacities, most recently with homeless and at-risk youth. She has written journal articles but this is her first novel.
In present-day Australia, like many other countries, children must be at risk of significant harm (ROSH) to get a response from child protection. If a child meets ROSH, they will get a protective response. If a child does not reach ROSH, they won’t.