It's 1873 on the Murray River and while Emma is well aware that death is just part of life's process, helping her friend Bea nurse her terminally ill mother on their neighbouring sheep station wasn't supposed to be accompanied by murder.

But was it such a surprise? The tension among extended family members should have been a warning, and despite their desire to blame horse thieves for the death they're the ones with the motives.

So when Margaret Macdonald fears her husband may be the killer and begs Emma to investigate, how can she possibly refuse the dying woman? After all, she's known the Macdonalds for most of her twenty-five years and granting Margaret a last wish is the least she can do to put her mind at ease as to the fate of her family.

But everyone is against her investigating and when Matty calls in an old promise, Emma feels a pit opening up at her feet as she considers her future. So when her probing brings a deadly reaction it's almost a relief to have something else to focus on – namely whether she'll survive to have a future at all.