At 8 o’clock on a Wednesday morning Nathan is driving the Commodore he spent the whole weekend tuning. He’s feeling a little cocky, or maybe just a bit hemmed in, and as the lights turn green he puts one foot on the brake and the other on the accelerator, …

The stray animal rounded the corner of Rose-dale Road and Thomas Street at a slow trot, his bony hips tilted slightly to give the effect of walking at a tangent, the front legs not quite square with the back. His coat was yellow and thinning, the skin …