1933. EsmÔe Carr travels to Australia with her best friend in search of adventure. Left behind is EsmÔe's adolescent niece. Meggie Elliot has an imaginative and independent frame of mind. There is mystery surrounding her birth, which she intends to unravel, despite her mother's warnings to leave the past alone. When the truth surfaces it's not what Meggie wants to hear, and EsmÔe must reconcile the rift between mother and daughter.