At nineteen, Maya Delaney is drifting through a year shaped by grief. The tragic loss of her closest friend has left her untethered, making her life hollow and her hometown of Sorell feel unbearably small. Desperate for a fresh start, she takes a summer job in the quietTasmanian seaside community of Orford about 50kms away, working at the busy roadhouse on the Tasman Highway. Her plan is simple: serve coffee, toast sandwiches, keep her head down, and find a way to stitch her life back together.

But life rarely sticks to the plans she makes. Orford, its turquoise waters, weathered beach shacks, and steady tide of holiday travellers, becomes more than a peaceful escape. It's where Maya begins to feel the world opening again. And it's where she meets Reid Lawson, a young Queenslander travelling Australia to outrun troubles of his own. Reid's easy warmth, restless energy, and belief in taking chances force Maya to look beyond her safe routines and confront the bends in her own road.

When Reid suggests she defer university for a year and travel north with him, Maya is torn between fear and possibility. Yet something in her, something bruised but still alive, responds. Accepting his challenge sends her on a journey up the eastern seaboard, where long drives, quiet campgrounds, and unexpected friendships slowly guide her toward an unforeseen destiny in Queensland.

Where the Road Bends is a tender, deeply human story about grief, courage, and choosing a life shaped not by fear, but by hope. Set against the sweeping beauty of Tasmania and the small coastal towns that curve along Australia's eastern edge, it is a novel about finding belonging in unexpected places, making your mark in the world and discovering that sometimes the smallest detour can change everything, if you're brave enough to take it.