Playbackcentres on Jack Biner, a folklorist and oral historian who travels to the small town of Windrup to collect stories from the locals. His aim is to catalogue the intricacies of rural Australia, but as he begins his interviews he discovers that there has been, in the not too distant past, a number of accidents, or at least incidents, the truth of which he is drawn to uncover. One man was shot in the head and rendered speechless. Another has his hand blown off and another is the victim of his own suicide. Everyone has a theory as to who's the good, and who's the bad guy, and the one who does know the truth, isn't saying anything. There's a woman too, Laura, with whom Biner falls in love with during their clandestine affair. Part detective-mystery novel and part social history, Playbackwill appeal to those readers who like a ripping yarn, with a smattering of sex and mystery and also to those who demand more than 'just a story'.