Jess was not meant to be, but her tenacity to overcome adversities moulded a personality determined to survive. In a twist of fate, Jess is forced to leave Sydney as a young teenager without a legal identity to make her home in a remote Kimberley cattle station in Western Australia. She deviously achieves notoriety through her talent for writing.

The story follows her passage to womanhood, which includes her connection with a motley crew of cattlemen and interaction with a handful of Aboriginal people who live the traditional way of life of their ancestors. Revelations of her mysterious misdemeanours, and fame as a writer, lead to her re-entanglement with the dark forces that made it necessary for her to leave Sydney. This sets off a chain of events including a court case that Jess faces with the help from those who seek justice.