Book excerpt: Lightning Ridge, Australia, the world’s opal capital, has miners from over fifty countries, who brought with them their political and religious beliefs, traditions, and memories. Gradually they created a unique society with a new culture, character, morals, and ideals. You never know who is who in Lightning Ridge, says Bill, an old opal miner. Aborigines and Europeans, doctors and illiterates, policemen and criminals, all camp next to each other, looking for the same rainbow in the clay beneath the sandstone. Prospectors come to Lightning Ridge in search of the elusive rainbow gem that will make them instantly rich and respected. The hope to find a red-on-black opal is the dream these opal miners live on. Ratting is the worst crime possible in an opal mining community. Ratters are miners who masquerade as prospectors, but they wait until a miner hits opal and then loot his mine. These stories are also about the women who loved and followed their adventurous men searching for their rainbow in the heart of Australian wilderness. ? The seven stories in this book are based on real people and events. Each story can be read separately or as one book. Set in Lightning Ridge and in Canberra, the tales span from 1938 to present day.