The suburban story begins at a backyard barbecue when an unrelated adult slaps a misbehaving child. The fallout leaves friends and family relationships in ruins. Tsiolkas set the story in a Greek Australian family with a racially-diverse group of characters, who were reproduced in the television series.
In directing some of the Australian production Matt Saville (below) emphasised the story’s Australian character and its ‘healthy cynicism towards political correctness’.
