Anna grows up in a third-story unit in Parramatta with her adoptive Russian mother Sophia. When her teacher Miss Glass gives her a Box Brownie camera, small acts of observation coupled with the art of photography become her escape. On visiting the suburb of Castle Hill with her schoolfriend Lisaveta she falls into a seductive world or gardens and orchards. At the Thompson's place she embarks on a mission to photograph the orchard by night and day. It is there she meets Friedrich, an older man of German origin but from the Soviet Union, who lives in a shed on the property. She eventually learns that he was once a celebrated writer, his ambitions destroyed by the war. As events unfold Anna realises that her connections to the orchard and to Friedrich are deeper than she ever could have imagined. The mysteries and secrets of the past unravel in the most shocking, tender and unexpected of ways. Set in Sydney, and in Russia. Past Life is a glorious novel about the various ways the gifts and traumas of the past plays out in the present. It is the affecting story of relationships across generations and William Lane's most hauntingly beautiful work to date. Photography -- Fiction. | Gardening -- Fiction. | Russia -- Fiction. | AUS fiction (Australia) | Australian