On an island in Victorian, a family falls quietly away from each other, and a girl goes missing.

Meanwhile, in the suburbs of Sydney, a man's guilty conscience leads him to hospital waiting rooms and an unexpected relationship.

Islands by Peggy Frew and No One by John Hughes are shortlisted for this year's prestigious Miles Franklin Award.

In the Drawing Room, the authors discuss their books, what it means to write about Australia, and the subjective nature of truth.