Book excerpt: Peter Baines started his career as a police officer in the streets of Cabramatta in the early nineties. Becoming a specialist in forensic crime scene investigations he was called upon to bring his skills to the Bali bombings in 2002. But it was the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that forever changed the direction of his life. Helping the people of Thailand identify their dead, he met the countless children who had been left behind, orphaned, with nowhere to go. With a colleague he decided to do something, and set about creating the charity Hands Across the Water, building an orphanage and raising funds to support and educate the children. This is Peter's story about how one knockabout Aussie bloke can change the lives of thousands by offering a hand.