The story of the Virk family is set against a tragic backdrop that remains one of the most widely discussed crimes of our time. On the night of November 14, 1997, 14-year-old Reena Virk, a troubled Victoria high-school student, was swarmed and beaten by a group of teenagers and eventually killed. At the time, Reena's father Manjit, a soft-spoken, sensitive immigrant from the Punjab state of India, had already been let down by both social-services and law-enforcement authorities.He and his wife, Suman, had struggled with the challenges of conflicting cultures and religions, of family dissension and child-rearing ideologies, and with allegations of wrongdoing and the resulting tarnished reputations. In the aftermath of Reena's murder, it was Suman who spoke for the family. Now, for the first time, Manjit tells his story, speaking from the heart about his life with Reena; the spiralling events that led to yet more angst and frustration for the family; his lingering concerns about a badly fractured social-support and legal system; and the faith that pulled him through the most trying times of his life.
