When Thea Dari-Jones takes the job as officer in charge of the Thursday Island police station in Torres Strait, she has no idea that her desire to start anew and return to her mother's islander roots will be the greatest challenge of her life. Arriving with visions of enjoying a relaxed, idyllic island lifestyle, what she finds instead is a close-knit community divided by a brutal crime and an unexpected relationship with an islander fisherman that brings her closer to her own heritage. As Thea investigates the murder, a series of surprising events lead her through the landscape and language of the locals, most of whom are convinced that maydh, or black magic, is the source of the unsolved mystery on the island.