Bertha Schippan, beautiful but headstrong daughter of a Wendish - German family, is murdered on New Year's Day, 1902.<br /><br />A posse of Adelaide police arrive at the family's lonely Murray Flats farm thirty - six hours later, but by the time an Aboriginal tracker can start his work, a gale has blown all clues away. An inquest sends her elder sister Mary to trial. But why would she kill Bertha when everyone knew them as loving companions?<br /><br /><em>The Noon Lady of Towitta</em>, a novel based on real events, entwines fact and folktale to delve into the secrets of a family haunted by its past and ruled by a devout and tyrannical father.