Numunwari is a gigantic salt-water crocodile - sacred to the Aboriginal community, the keeper of the secrets of their ancient customs and the symbol of the Aboriginal people's timeless culture threatened with destruction by the white man's ways. It lives in Arnhem Land in a remote part of northern Australia. But when it moves downstream terror breaks out. Numunwari leaves its remote domain, and swims downstream, asserting its authority and transforming Darwin into a city of terror. The challenge this event represents opens out disturbing and fundamental questions about our relationships with wild life. There are rough, tough characters, ruthless criminals, opportunist politicians - and the Aboriginal Oondabund, the creature's hereditary guardian. Cover art by Roger Janovsky. Made into a film Dark Age (1987).