Frontier Books in Order
Part ofPeter Watt Books in OrderThe epic Frontier saga by Peter Watt, following the blood feud between the Duffy and Macintosh families across a century of Australian history.
Last updated: December 15, 2025
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Publication Order
12 books
From the Stars Above
by Peter Watt
2018
In the final chapter of the saga, Patrick Duffy returns to Southeast Asia to confront the ghosts of his time in Changi. Meanwhile, Michael Macintosh fights in the jungles of Vietnam, unaware that the family curse is building toward its devastating conclusion.
While the Moon Burns
by Peter Watt
2016
In the post-war years, Tom Duffy finally purchases his ancestral home, Glen View, but the Macintoshes will not surrender it easily. Sarah Macintosh, now head of the firm, launches a dirty war to destroy him, proving that the deadliest battles are fought at home.
Beneath a Rising Sun
by Peter Watt
2015
While Jessica Duffy uncovers treason as a code breaker, her cousin Sarah Macintosh plots to seize the family business by any means necessary. Across the ocean, David Macintosh struggles to survive the brutality of a prisoner-of-war camp.
And Fire Falls
by Peter Watt
2014
As WWII reaches the Pacific in 1942, James Duffy defies orders to fly against the Japanese, while Diane Duffy is trapped in the jungles of Malaya. In Sydney, the Macintosh siblings engage in a ruthless power struggle for control of their father's empire.
War Clouds Gather
by Peter Watt
2013
It is 1936, and while Matthew Duffy faces a new German enemy in Iraq, the family war heats up in Sydney. George Macintosh takes extreme measures to block his nephew David from the boardroom, sending his own son to the outback in a bid to toughen him up.
Beyond the Horizon
by Peter Watt
2012
The Great War is ending, but the feud between the Duffys and Macintoshes is far from over. As soldiers return to a changed Australia, George Macintosh fights to deny his nephew's inheritance, while an Aboriginal elder foresees a tide of death sweeping the land.
To Ride The Wind
by Peter Watt
2010
As the Great War rages on, Matthew and Tom Duffy face the horrors of the trenches and the desert. Meanwhile, an Indigenous man seeks the fiery stars that will help him reclaim his land, and a family traitor continues to weave a web of deceit.
To Touch The Clouds
by Peter Watt
2009
It is 1916, and the Duffy and Macintosh men are fighting on the front lines of France and the Middle East. But the real danger lies at home, where George Macintosh is passing secrets to the enemy in a bid to consolidate his power.
To Chase The Storm
by Peter Watt
2004
Betrayed by his wife, Major Patrick Duffy leaves Sydney for the battlefields of the Boer War, where he encounters a ghost from his past. Back in Australia, a mysterious mentor guides young Alex Duffy to the family's ancestral home, bringing the curse full circle.
Flight of the Eagle
by Peter Watt
2002
Captain Patrick Duffy is torn between his Irish roots and the scheming grandmother who wants to control him. Meanwhile, on the Queensland frontier, Native Police trooper Peter Duffy faces a heartbreaking choice between his duty and the people of his mother's tribe.
Shadow of the Osprey
by Peter Watt
2000
Michael Duffy returns to Sydney with a score to settle, reigniting the bitter war against the Macintosh family. While the Macintoshes maneuver for political power and wealth, the Duffys fight to survive on the margins, but a new generation is about to turn the tables.
Cry of the Curlew
by Peter Watt
2000
In the harsh Queensland outback of the 1890s, a brutal crime committed by squatter Donald Macintosh sparks a blood feud with the Irish Duffy clan. As the families clash over land and legacy, a secret Aboriginal heritage binds them together in ways they cannot yet understand.
Series background & context
The Frontier series is often referred to simply as the Duffy and Macintosh saga, and that nickname actually tells you a lot more about what to expect. While it is technically a historical timeline of Australia’s development, the real engine driving this massive story is a multigenerational blood feud that makes most fictional rivalries look tame.
It kicks off in colonial Queensland during the mid-19th century. This wasn't a time for polite society; it was a rough, dangerous period defined by land grabs and survival. On one side, you have the Macintoshes, a clan of wealthy, ruthless squatters who believe the land is theirs by right. On the other, you meet the Duffys, a tough Irish family who have fought for every scrap they own.
The spark that ignites the fire isn't just a simple property dispute.
Peter Watt anchors the conflict in a dark, violent crime committed by a Macintosh patriarch, an act that entangles both families in a web of curses and secret heritage. A major thread running through the books is the hidden Aboriginal ancestry that links the sworn enemies. This adds a layer of supernatural tension to the narrative, suggesting that the land itself is watching and remembering the sins of the past. It’s a complexity that prevents the story from becoming a simple tale of "good guys versus bad guys."
As the timeline rolls forward, the series moves out of the bush and onto the global stage. Watt uses the family lineage to take us through the Boer War, the trenches of Gallipoli, and the nightmares of the Pacific theatre in World War II. Because the saga runs all the way through to the Vietnam War, you get to see how the character of the nation changes from the era of horses and bayonets to the age of helicopters and automatic rifles.
It creates a rhythm where history keeps repeating itself.
Despite the bad blood, the younger generations of Duffys and Macintoshes often find themselves drawn together. The series is heavy on forbidden romance, often ending in tragedy, which only fuels the hatred for the next generation. It’s a cycle of love and vengeance that feels impossible to break, dragging the descendants into conflicts their ancestors started long before they were born.
The writing style mirrors the landscape it describes. It is unvarnished and occasionally brutal, refusing to shy away from the harsh treatment of Indigenous Australians or the grim reality of frontier violence. It’s an epic in the truest sense of the word, offering a gritty, dust-choked window into how modern Australia was forged in fire and blood.
Edited by
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