"Three things cannot be long hidden; the sun, the moon and the truth." Buddha
Mandalay blatantly depicts how love and innocence are destroyed, turmoil is created, lives are shaped and the ramifications of these on future generations.
Its epic journey through country and city, Australia, provides a stark contrast in geography to match the dissimilarity of characters.
Property esquire, John Connelly, is ecstatic when his horse, Abbemore, wins the historical Regal Mile in 1945. Little does he realise that this victory will impact his life dramatically and it will be felt by future generations.
The Connelly's, a second-generation Australian family of Irish Catholic origin, are a force to be reckoned with. John runs the largest, most successful sheep station in the district and trains racehorses.
John dotes on a young woman called Carmen; however, she rejects his proposal of marriage. Underneath his calm exterior he is grief-stricken. He knows he is powerless to change her mind, and so he marries on the rebound.
Carmen finds peace in a life of solace by entering a religious order. Their paths never cross again.
John's sisters, Fran and Isabel, live a life devoid of emotion and love. Their sarcastic, cynical natures further isolate them from their brother, John. They live in luxury at Oceanview, a private hotel in Sydney. Their main concern in life is upholding their social status. But their lives are severely interrupted by the birth of a child named Abby. Their promise to keep the secret of the child's identity remains with them for life.
Abby, a love baby born in strange circumstances, lives a life built on lies and deceit. As a child, she is ridiculed by the nuns at school, and she is deprived of a mother's love at home. Her only security is in her beauty. When her goal to study nursing doesn't go as planned, she finds comfort in the arms of her boyfriend, resulting in a pregnancy. Forced to marry, she hopes she has made the right decision for not just her baby, but for herself as well.
