Meet Jeffrey Watson-Johnson: hydrologist, husband of Martine, father of Bern, model citizen of Mildura.

But after he inherits a small fortune from an obscure aunt and has a disconcerting encounter with his cousin Pam, Jeffrey decides it's time to change everything.

He tells Martine he wants to live as if he were the family pet.

Sleeping through the day or wandering beside the river, he discovers a new power: he can sense secret grief in others. What to do with this gift? Or with his awareness of the endless streams of water flowing unseen beneath the earth?

Michael Winkler's first novel Grimmishbecame a cult hit. Griefdoggis another triumph. Funny, sad, always entrancing, it tells a crazy-sane story about identity, love, family and forgiveness.