In the darkest hour, a blood-soaked teenager flees the rural Gerandaroo football oval. Eight months later, Bess, a young teacher, returns home to Gerandaroo. A childhood game of dare with her former bestfriend forces Bess to form a women's footy team to play against Denby, a rival town. Bess reluctantly recruits players, but the team has to contend with hostile locals - including Beth's own father. Will this help the small community to come back together - or will it be the final thing that blows everything apart? As tensions in the town boil over, so too do resentments and secrets and violence that have been previously held tight and close. Darkly told and breathlessly compelling, Darkness Runs Deep is a striking new Australian crime novel about the best and worst of who we are.

Claire McNeel is a fifth generation Melbourne Demons supporter/sufferer, and a former registered nurse and researcher, with a PhD in Neuroscience. She was a finalist for Best Screenplay at the Byron Bay International Film Festival, and this screenplay formed the basis for her debut novel Darkness Runs Deep. She currently lives by the beach on Wadawurrung Country with her dog Homer.