In the mid 1990s, Zuzana Milenkova, rescued from her fate as a sex slave of a rebel militia group in war-torn Bosnia, finds herself alone in a strange new country. She has emigrated to New Zealand and has anglicised her name to Susan but is that sufficient? There are many obstacles to overcome, a new language to learn, different customs and a new career. She also has to come to terms with the horror of the past before she can move on and create a new future.

She befriends Frazer Winton who breaks through her reserve and fear of men. Their friendliness becomes more intense as she begins to trust humanity again. Her composure is, however, ruptured when, on a backcountry tramp she has to walk through a disused railway tunnel.

When the darkness inside envelops her, terrible memories of another tunnel back in her homeland seize her in a panic attack.

What are these terrible memories and will they haunt her new life in a new land? Can Frazer help or is the hurdle too deep and soul destroying for her to conquer?