When Cord McCullum, a young Australian surveyor working in Malaysia, meets Lucille Cao, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy tea merchant, their brief love affair ends in heartbreak when she is sent to America to attend to family business. Disillusioned, Cord returns to Australia and a remote outback cattle station where he becomes deeply touched by the First Nations' people, their stories and their culture, whilst trying, and failing, to stop himself falling for Kathy, the feisty Jillaroo daughter of the station's owner.

Seeing a chance of a new beginning, and beguiled by the landscape, and Kathy's beauty, Cord resolves to continue on at the station. Yet, just as life seems to be turning for the better, Rodney Cao, the instigator of Lucille having to go away, makes contact.

He asks Cord if he would stand as ward for Rodney's daughter, Mia to enable her to come to Australia and buy property. Cord reluctantly agrees and in doing so is drawn into a web of deceit that threatens to transform the scenery of all that has gone before.

. .