Emily Danvers, a young New Zealand teacher, finds herself doing relief

work in a primary school where one of her pupils will need her to go above and beyond the call of duty to rescue not only him, but his mother and stepfather too, from the circle of abuse. But when she tackles Robert's stepfather, Sel, she sets off a chain of events which leads to catastrophe on a fishing trip. Life lessons come from the school of hard knocks; Sel and Robert are thrown into company with a bitter, elderly recluse on an island. Annie Fitzpatrick has all the experience she needs to keep the two in line. But what will Annie herself learn from her two surprise visitors? ... Robert's mother, Mihi, has been taking drugs to deal with their situation, but when things go horribly wrong and she thinks she has lost both Sel and Robert, does she even want the baby in her womb any longer?