It's 1851 and Joe is a policeman in Sydney. He doesn't mind cutting corners and through the theft of a locket, attempts to compromise a police sergeant into the same way of thinking. The sergeant has problems of his own and what starts out as a random opportunity ends with tragic results.
As a result, Joe must leave Sydney and takes the chance to try his luck in the newly discovered gold fields to the west.
On the one hand, this is a story about Sydney, the gold fields to the west and the journey between in 1851. The topography, the people, their pursuits and the places where they live and work.
On the other, this is a love story about a man who finds himself by being tested against bushrangers, opportunists and the harsh Australian bush at the height of the gold rush. He finds care and affection from his friends, but antipathy and murderous intent by many who would rather steal from someone else than make their own fortune.
At the end, he finds he must do what he should have done all along.