The novel is set in an outback town in NSW Australia during the period from 1952 until 1976. The story is about the challenges which are faced by two families in a time when gossip was rife in small towns. The main character is Elizabeth who goes to great lengths to protect her family by keeping a deep dark secret. Disclosure could mean the end of family life as she knows it. This period of time finds women at home and men as breadwinners. Illegitimacy and adultery were frowned upon. There is a murder, a bad accident, and a suicide as two families.