Paradiso is an outstanding achievement, as a testament to the human will to find a better life, and simply as an incredible read.’ Venero Armanno

In 1880 three hundred Italian peasants abandon the fields of Veneto to follow a dream. They join an expedition to establish a utopian colony in the islands of the Pacific. Wealth, independence and liberty await them.

The venture is a disaster. The expedition leaders abandon them, the dream disintegrates. Struggling to survive in the jungles of New Guinea, the Italians are desperate to escape. Australia beckons but unseen events threaten to frustrate their quest for liberty.

The story is told through the eyes of two children in the context of the poverty of 1880s Italy, and the final days of the Great War in 1918. It is a tale of emigrant hope, betrayal and resilience, and Australia’s response to a group of 19th Century refugees.