Synopsis

Synopsis

This story traces the life of Nadine, a girl born to Indian parents who grew up living in Pukekohe, the place of the early Indian and Chinese settlers in New Zealand, to Grey Lynn and Arch Hill in Auckland. It embodies the issues of a Kiwi girl growing up in conflicting cultures and getting lost in her environment.

Patel, a New Zealand-born Indian arranges for Chandra, from India, to come and be his wife. After many years, Nadine is born. The Indian culture of male dominance leads Chandra to reject her daughter, Nadine from birth and fall into post- natal depression.  Fortunately for Patel and Nadine, they have two good neighbours, Manchala and Kim, to help during Nadine’s early childhood years.

In an attempt to help Nadine and Chandra, Patel buys a dairy in Grey Lynn. More trouble brews when Nadine mixes with the wrong crowd and is caught shoplifting. Following the traditional way, Patel ships Nadine to India to learn to be a prim and proper Indian girl. This proves a disaster, and Nadine comes home.

Patel makes another mistake by arranging for Nadine to wed Gopal from India. This is one big mistake of tying together a Kiwi Indian girl and an India-born boy who had only come to New Zealand on a marriage of convenience. The marriage breaks down. Gopal leaves with the dowry money and marries a Fijian girl.

Nadine meets Andy, a Maori boy who is known for his footloose lifestyle and moves in with him in Arch Hill. Nadine suffers from physical and emotional abuse. But she refuses to leave him, until she has a baby, then she disappears.

Kim comes back into Nadine’s life and brings her to her senses. Nadine trains to become a social worker and works in a Refuge Centre. In her line of work, she sees many oppressed women.

At the Refuge Centre, Nadine meets Megan from the Rape Crisis Centre. Megan is a rape victim and survivor. Together, they work as a formidable team.

This book is a fiction and shows different plausible scenarios of oppressed women: Women who suffered from physical and mental violence, rape, pornography, swinging, incest, bullying, sex with minors, human trafficking, drug trafficking. And so on.