Time Out to Survive

The year is 2231. A young eighteen-year-old finds herself alone and washed up in a rubber lifeboat on the bank of a river delta close to the sea. Having lost her memory, she has been living in a hut for the summer. Having the confidence and survival skills to face any problem, and after living in a small one-room hut for what was left of the summer, she decided it was time to move on when two names suddenly began to haunt her. She must make the journey to a place called Auckland where she knows a certain Peter and Dawn can help her. She sets out.

Journeying inland, she arrives in a large valley where she might be able to rest up. But just before winter arrives, the owners arrive home. They take her in and are happy to help all they can, even as they realize things are not right with her on many fronts. Her memory partially returns, but only in small windows, a song, and a male voice giving her advice, which is eventually revealed as that of her father. She has been told her memory will return eventually.

At winter's end, she sets out with a dog called Jak to find Peter and Dawn. The journey takes her through a country where crime is spreading at the hands of one man. With the help of Jak and some occasionally questionable people, she slips through the criminal organization's net many times. Her memory finally returns after two long years, and none of what she remembers is good.