Through the story of two brothers who grew up in patriotic, suburban Melbourne, George Johnston created an enduring exploration of two Australian myths - that of the man who loses his soul as he gains worldly success, and that of the tough, honest, Aussie battler.

David Meredith abandons his career as a journalist to live in exile as a writer on a Greek Island with his beautiful wife Cressida. Yet after 13 years on the island, he still has not found the freedom and answers he craves.

The third novel in the Meredith Trilogy which began with My Brother Jack and then Clean Straw for Nothing, A Cartload of Clay is technically unfinished as the author was still working on it when he died in 1970. It takes up the story of David Meredith when he returns to Australia after living for some years in Britain and Greece.