The Backpack Years

<p>Stef and James couldn't get it all together-aside from gathering clothes and toiletries to stuff in a backpack. To these adventurous, incident-prone 20-somethings, carrying their lives with them felt like freedom, and they traveled not just to explore, but to escape. James's father and his job pushed him out of England, and Stef left her old personality and anxieties back in America. What followed was a transcontinental journey of bad choices spanning six years and thirteen countries.</p><p><br></p><p>When their paths eventually crossed at an Irish pub in Sydney's red light district, they found the one thing they'd stay put for, but had few options for their international relationship. Attempts at immigration failed until one solution remained-get married so they could keep dating. What was supposed to be the end of their problems was just the beginning, and the time had come to decide whether to keep trying or pack up.</p>