Matthew Flinders' Cat: Bryce Courtenay

Billy O'Shannessy, once a prominent barrister, is now on the street where he sleeps on the bench outside the State Library. Above him on the windowsill is a bronze statue of Matthew Finders' cat, Trim. Ryan is a ten year old, a near street kid, heading for all the usual trouble. The two meet and form an unlikely friendship. Billy appeals to Ryan's imagination by telling him the story of Australia's circumnavigation as seen through Trim's eyes, and Billy is drawn into Ryan's Sydney underworld life. Over several months, the pair begin the mutual process of rehabilitation. Here is a story of a city, its crime, the plight of the homeless and the politics of greed and perversion - the story of a drunk, a boy and a cat.