Against the backdrop of war-torn Indonesia struggling to free itself from colonial rule and Japanese dominance, a small boy sees his childhood blown to smithereens. Years later, now an adult with lingering complexities, Deventer returns to the land that had been a cause of much happiness as well as anguish.After an eventful political career, he is lost at sea, and just when he thinks everything is over, he comes to realize his only desire... A poignant tale of a confused individual looking for something to hold on to amidst the chaos, The Australian Lagoon is about dreams lost and found.