Uluru's aboriginal community have shut down the local airport and National Park, much to the alarm of the authorities in Canberra. James Cook, as the government's representative (himself an aboriginal), is sent to help sort out what he thinks is no more than a labour dispute.

While there, he meets Pam, a young anthropologist. She introduces James to a local elder, Billy. The three of them go on walkabout to Kata Djuta and finally back to Uluru, the main purpose of which seems to be to prepare James for an unusual celestial event. The star Eta Carinae has suddenly begun to brighten. Most astronomers think it's a supernova. The elders think it's something more.