"Ferocious psychic need and volcanic energy drive this combined memoir, detective story and travelogue" from the author of The Female Eunuch ( The New Yorker) .

After her father died, influential feminist writer and public intellectual Germaine Greer realizes how little she knows about him. She decides to track the life of her father, an Australian intelligence officer during World War II, to uncover the roots of his secrecy and distance. As she painstakingly assembles the jigsaw pieces of the past, Greer discovers surprising secrets about her father, her family, and herself.

During her three-year quest, Greer travels from England to Australia, Tasmania, India, and Malta; searches through scores of genealogical, civil, and military archives; and delves into the memories of the men and women who may—or may not—have known Reg Greer.

Yet the heart of her "lyrical but brutal elegy" is her own emotional journey, as the startling facts behind her father's façade force her to painfully examine her own notions of truth and loyalty, family and obligation ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

"Anyone who has done this kind of search will identify with Ms. Greer's frustration, admire her persistence, laugh at her accuracy and rejoice in her discoveries." — The New York Times Book Review

"The deeply affecting climax is a remarkable feat of family reconstruction." — Publishers Weekly