In 1920s Queensland, Lizzie O'Dea wants to get away from her dad and the memories of her mum that haunt her. At the races she meets attractive, war-scarred Joe and sees her chance to escape. But life with Joe isn't what she dreamt it would be. Finding herself on the fringes of society, Lizzie discovers a new sense of independence and sexuality, love and friendship. It's a precarious life, though, always on the edge of collapse. Two decades later, Lizzie is sick and worn out. Lying in a Brisbane lock hospital, she thinks about Joe, who's been lost to her for many years. But she's a survivor. There's hope yet. Set between Brisbane and Townsville, and based on real events that the author uncovered from historical archives, Treading Air is the remarkably vivid tale of a young Australian working-class rebel who clashed with the expectations of her world.