Ao Toa

A band of passionate conservationists wage war against the ravages of pollution and unregulated genetic engineering in this eco-thriller about sustainable ecology, the morality of science, and the interplay between local interests and the demands of the corporate and political world. New Zealand's ancient Maori tradition blends with feminist ideology as Cowrie and a group of citizens from a traditional New Zealand village take on multinational corporations and the government in order to address the crisis that has overcome their community: an ailing teenager and a wilting coastal ecosystem that they blame on irresponsible pollution legislation and years of thoughtless environmental exposure to unfettered genetic modification.

Cathie Dunsford is the director of Dunsford Publishing Consultants, a firm that specializes in promoting the publication of Pacific literature. She is the author of Cowrie, The Journey Home, Manawa Toa: Heart Warrior, and Song of the Selkies.