At the very beginning of researching this book, I joined Aegeanet, a group of archaeologists and academics who are amazingly willing to answer questions from passionate amateurs of the Aegean Bronze Age. I particularly want to thank Dr Sabine Beckmann, who became a friend as well as mentor, archaeology tutor and experimenter, even making her own murex purple dye for me, and helping me create Leira’s name from her theories on Minoan language. The day I spent with her in and around Gournia was a highlight of my life – Leira had to become a potter once I had held a stone pottery tool, stood on the powdery clay floor of the ancient workshop, and seen a piece of pot marked with a 4000-year-old thumbprint…Thanks also to the Gournia archaeological site, and the staff of INSTAP for their warm welcome and enthusiasm when Sabine explained that I was researching a novel. Any errors in the background facts are purely mine – especially the deliberate ones such as relocating the Psychros Cave to a hill near Gournia.

I also want to mention Katie, our extremely knowledgeable guide to Akrotiri, who I finally coaxed into giving me a personal opinion on the age of the snub-nosed saffron gatherer, not presently on display – and all the archaeologists doing this painstaking work and sharing their research with the public.

That trip, and the following twenty-two months of writing, were made possible by the generosity of the Australia Council, for which I am eternally grateful.

Mark and Kiniki Stirling, who were working with refugees in Greece at the time, gave me a more personal insight into the shock of dislocation. Mirna, of Scheria Greek Art, sent me a totally unexpected gift of her recreation of the dancing swallows fresco from Akrotiri, and inspired the title of the book. And more friends than I can name have supported me with specific areas of knowledge, as well love and enthusiasm.

On the writing side, I am grateful, as always, to the team at Allen and Unwin: Jodie Webster and Kate Whitfield, and Sue Flockhart, who supported the book’s gestation and couldn’t stop being involved after retiring. It was also wonderful having the involvement of Pajama Press, with Erin Alladin and Gail Winskill. A special thanks to Josh Durham for another brilliant cover, and Sarfaraaz Alladin for equally brilliant maps.

Finally, my family: my husband Tom, as well as the usual support during the vagueness and exhaustion of writing, climbed with me up Mt Juktas and down the Psychros Cave, stayed in the earthquake simulator when I had to escape, and generally made a strenuous trip easy. And because my life is completely interwoven with my writing, I have to thank James and Georgia, Susan and Glyn, for the greatest gifts of all – ten days apart as I finished the first draft. Welcoming Claudia and Olive to the world made me more determined than ever that Leira would grow to womanhood strong and confident in her body, despite the traumas that she faced. May all children do the same.