Born in Sydney on 31 July 1926 and growing up in Taree on the north coast of New South Wales, Ian Moffitt worked for The Sun as a copy boy and became a cadet early in 1945.

In 1949, during the Chinese Civil War, he joined the staff of the South China Morning Post and it was his experience in Hong Kong and China that inspired The Retreat Of Radiance. First published in 1982 by William Collins, The Retreat Of Radiance was four months on the bestseller list, six weeks at number one.

He then became a reporter, sub-editor, feature writer and foreign correspondent for Australian newspapers and magazines, including The Daily Mirror , The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian and The Bulletin.

His other novels were The Colour Man (published in the US as Presence Of Evil), Blue Angels, Death Adder Dreaming and Gilt Edge. He also wrote a collection of short stories, The Electric Jungle.

Moffitt married Elizabeth Saunders and had five children: Matthew, Annabel, Dominic, Frances and Sophie. Their eldest son, Matt, was the lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter with Australian band Matt Finish, one of Australia's most popular live bands from the late seventies until the mid-nineties. Sophie is a dancer, choreographer and contemporary dance teacher, whose production company ‘Bounce Productions’, is involved with corporate events in Australia, Asia, America and New Zealand.

Ian Moffitt died on 1 November 2000.

Novels

• The Retreat Of Radiance: A Novel of Revenge (1982)
• The Colour Man (published in the US as Presence Of Evil) (1983)
• "Dead Lines" (1985)
• Blue Angels (1987)
• Death Adder Dreaming (1988)
• Gilt Edge (1991)

Short Stories

• The Electric Jungle (1993)

Non-Fiction

• The U-Jack Society: An Experience of Being Australian (1972)
• The Australian Outback (The World's Wild Places) (1981)
• Great Budgie Batsmen & Bowlers (1983)