LEONINA

Haunted by feelings of guilt and anger after the death of one of his patients at the hands of her intimate partner, therapist Leon Campbell tries to escape the turmoil in his mind by moving to Turkey.

On his first morning in Istanbul, Leon meets fellow Australian, Nina McLean, one of the owners of the hotel where Leon is staying. Nina has her own history of trauma. She also has a difficult and disturbing relationship with her partner, Birol, a man with whom she is no longer involved emotionally, but is still entangled with financially. Leon, on high alert for such behaviour, considers Birol dangerous.

As Leon and Nina get to know one another, they find that they have a lot in common, including a mutual attraction, but Leon’s protectiveness sometimes angers Nina, who sees it as controlling behaviour. As they work towards finding a resolution to Nina’s difficult position, Leon realises that not only is he becoming very fond of Nina, he is also motived by a desire to save her, something he failed to do for his patient.

Leonina is a tale of two people trying to recover themselves by running away from their pasts. It is not until they meet that they discover that the past will always stalk you, until you turn and look it in the eye.