*The Divine wind is set in the small town of Broome in northwestern Australia during World War 2 (1939-1945). Broome's Roebuck Bay is on the Indian Ocean and the sea is a quintessential part of Hartley (Hart) Penrose's life. It is againist a background of racial prejudice and the dislocation of war that the story of Hartley's love for Mitsy, a girl of Japanese descent, is played out.

After a carefree childhood and early adolescence, Hart and Mitsy
explore dimensions of love and friendship. Hart comes to realise that
relationships involve complex emotions and that one’s motives are
not always admirable when dealing with other people. He quickly
becomes intensely jealous of his friend Jamie Kilian’s affection for Mitsy
and consequently spies on him. Furthermore, the war changes life for
everyone in Broome and Mitsy is caught up in the racial vilification that
festers against anyone suspected of having dealings with the enemy.

When his sister is declared ‘missing’, even Hart temporarily turns against
Mitsy because of her background.
Hart must overcome a tendency towards self-pity and a propensity for
drifting, particularly after he is injured during one of his father’s pearling
operations. Caught in a cyclonic storm while taking a foolhardy risk with
his ship, Michael Penrose must accept the guilt of risking his own life, his
son’s life and the lives of his crew and divers on the pearling ship of which
he is the captain. Mitsy’s father is one of the divers who, after saving Hart’s
life, drowns at sea, thus further complicating the young lovers’ story. Hart
must also deal with the loss of his mother, who deserts his father and
returns to England, only to be killed during the London Blitz.
Hart struggles to think and act independently when gross injustices
occur. For example, his support for the often drunk but amiable
Aboriginal stockman, Derby Boxer, is invariably prompted by the actions
of others – Mitsy, his sister Alice and his father Michael. Although his
behaviour overall is relatively inoffensive given the blatant racism and
fear-mongering circulating in Broome during this period, Hart’s actions
are not always honourable, as he himself acknowledges.
This novel invites the reader to reflect on the nature of love, on
friendship and on the propensity within each individual for both loyalty
and betrayal. At the heart of the drama is the struggle everyone faces
to overcome their weaknesses and realise their potential for developing
positive, sustaining relationships.