- Sometimes the truth is unbearable, and best kept secret. Stedman’s proposition is contentious but explored in depth in this her second novel after her hugely successful first, The Light Between Oceans.
- The MacBride family live on a large and remote sheep station in Western Australia. The father and his oldest son die in a tragic truck accident in 1958. The youngest son, Matt, who was also in the truck, is severely injured and rendered mentally unstable for a number of years.
- The daughter Rose, the middle child, is bright and confident and helps their mother run the property. Unfortunately she gets pregnant and gives birth to a boy. She's deeply ashamed and refuses to reveal the identity of the father. She commits suicide by jumping into an abandoned mine shaft with the baby, who survives. The family and friends interpret it as an accident.
- We're taken forward to 1969. Matt has fully recovered, and the baby, named Andy, is now now ten. He’s curious about his parents. Why did his mother commit suicide and who is his father?
- As the story develops we're introduced to a variety of fascinating characters, each with their own stories and secrets. One of them is Bonnie, a mining engineer who is exploring areas on the station that may contain minerals currently in demand. The mining boom that will dominate Australia's economy for decades to come has started.
- Bonnie and Matt are attracted to each other, and eventually they get engaged.
- We're taken decades ahead and discover how all the characters have dealt with their challenges, successes, disappointments and tragedies. We're drowned in sentimentality but lots of interesting detail.
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