Life is a journey. But as 23-year-old New Zealander Tara Forbes discovers, the route we each must take isn't always the one of our choosing. After a shock departure from her home town, Tara undertakes a quest for the answers to a family secret, which propels her into a surprising adventure on the other side of the world. There, she finds much more than she'd expected - love, friendship, fame and all-night parties but, even more so, anonymity and the chance to reinvent herself. Yet experimentation and excesses come at a price, and sometimes we pay dearly for our mistakes. As she struggles to honor a promise to her cherished grandmother, Tara's journey of self-discovery brings her to a place she could never have imagined, and she learns that life, with all its joys and tragedies, shapes us into what we are truly destined to be. Rachel Knowles writes a refreshing and innovative novel that subtly intertwines the philosophy of human nature with scintillating fiction. The result is a thought-provoking and immensely entertaining read. Rachel Knowles has worked as a news reporter and magazine editor. She is currently writing her second novel and lives with her husband and two children in Nelson, New Zealand. Publisher's website: www.eloquentbooks.com/ExtraVirgin.html