Spanning three generations and an infinite range of human emotions, The Thorn Birds is the story of a singular family, the Clearys, who leave New Zealand to live on a vast Australian sheep station, where their triumphs and tragedies are interwoven with the wonder and terror of a land ravaged by cycles of drought, fire, and torrential flood. But most of all, it is the story of Meggie, who falls madly in love with a man she can never marry, and of Ralph, a truly beautiful man, whose ambition takes him from Outback parish priest to the inner circles of the Vatican-but whose love for Meggie Cleary will lead to a passion he cannot control.

The novel begins in 1915 and ends more than half a century later, when the only survivor of the third generation, Justine, a brilliant London actress, sets a course of life and love halfway around the world from her roots.

(interior description)