Here is the definitive story of the most divisive episode in Australia's history—the dismissal of Gough Whitlam's government.

In her award-winning biography of Gough Whitlam, Jenny Hocking first revealed the astonishing secret story of the planning, the people—and the collusion—behind the removal of Gough Whitlam.

Now Hocking brings together this hidden history—a mixture of the unknown, the overlooked and the clandestine—to write a political thriller: the story you were never meant to know.

In this updated edition, never before released material from Sir John Kerr's private papers reveals the continuing collusion between Malcolm Fraser and Sir John Kerr after the dismissal. Hocking explores the mystery of the Palace letters and tells the untold story behind Kerr's resignation as Governor-General. The secrets of the dismissal continue to unfold.



Jenny Hocking is Head of the School of Journalism, Australian Indigenous Studies at Monash University. She is the author of two major political biographies, Lionel Murphy: A Political Biography, shortlisted in the South Australian Festival Awards for Literature: National Non-Fiction Awards, and Frank Hardy: Politics Literature Life, shortlisted in the NSW Premier's History Awards. Jenny has also written extensively on counter-terrorism and democracy, most recently in Terror Laws: ASIO, Counter-terrorism and the Threat to Democracy.