It's been five long years since violence erupted between young migrants and local police in Melbourne's inner west, but the community is still on edge. Paul, a hard-headed local cop leads the most troubled of teens on a trip to hike the Kokoda Trail in the hopes of rebuilding community relationships. But as training gets underway, tensions between the disenfranchised teens and authority figures continue to simmer. Travelling with a group of teens on the edge of violence and a young, idealistic teacher, Paul is starting to believe no amount of outreach will repair the mutual mistrust.

From the vial-studded stairs of the high-rises to the ankle-deep mud of Kokoda, No Church in the Wild is a deeply researched, richly imagined state-of-the-nation novel that exposes the fractured systems that underpin contemporary Australian society.