Danny Dawson lives in the middle of the Australian outback. His older brother Jonny was killed in an accident last year but no-one ever talks about it.

It's time for the annual muster; the biggest event of the year on the cattle station and a time to sort the men from the boys, but this year things will be different. Jonny's gone and Danny's determined to prove he can fill his brother's shoes, their 14-year-old sister is pregnant; it's getting hotter and hotter and the rains won't come and the cracks are beginning to show…

When Danny's mum admits she can't cope, the family hires a housegirl to help out - a wide-eyed English backpacker. She doesn't have a clue what she's let herself in for - and neither do they…