A YOUNG GIRL'S COMING OF AGE IN COLONIAL AUSTRALIA: Motherless and raised by their father, Dr. Charles Allen, Fiona and her younger brother, Ainsley, spend their days on the family farm at Parramatta in the British penal colony of New South Wales, Australia. The year is 1819, and Fiona must learn to sew and keep house like an English lady, while Ainsley does school lessons with his tutor. Both Fiona and Ainsley prefer riding around the bushland surrounding their home as they search for the unique wildlife that Ainsley is eager to sketch. Kyle Sutherland - a young convict sent to Australia for a political crime - is assigned to work at their farm as a shepherd, and Fiona is instantly charmed by the young Scot, despite their differing social status. But when family secrets are revealed, followed by an unexpected tragedy, will Fiona's plans and dreams change forever? "Australia's penal colony origin provides a solid backdrop for this lively, emotional story about family secrets and social status. Fiona's father, a widower, wants to raise his daughter as a proper young lady. As for her brother, Ainsley, ("too pretty to be a boy") his passion for capturing the young country's flora and fauna in drawings disappoints his domineering father, who insists drawing is a pastime for ladies......The author's depiction of the restrictions of class and the benefits of privilege in colonial Australia add heft to a competently told historical romance." ---Publishers Weekly Reviewer "Finding Fiona" is the prequel to Jeanne McNamara's novel, "Caitlin's Country"; but also stands on its own as the story of a young girl's coming of age in the nineteenth century.