The rower was neither a young man nor particularly old. His tumble of grey hair spoke of the passage of time, but his spare frame was that of a youth. He was a ‘man-child’, his navy blue lycra ‘all-in-one’ emphasising this dichotomy – conferring on him a certain Spartan air, [...]

“Frank had been swimming ever since he could remember. His parents had owned a house down by the waterfront in Mosman, inside Sydney’s great Harbour…”

“This is The Salter Programme.” The voice was British, educated, with a working class burr. “I am calling from Tokyo, and want to inform you that your film script has been selected by our cultural exchange programme.”