Jack Wolf is the world's biggest rock star, and he's just tried to kill himself. Refusing the 12-step programme to overcome his drug addiction, he instead tries to find the only girl he ever loved, Cath Pearson. But he has a problem. The last time he saw her was ten years previously on a beach near Bali. As he tracks down Cath through the backpackers she met on her travels, Jack learns about the lives of each of them. Each story brings him closer to Cath, but in the end he must confront a final question: did she survive that fateful year? Backpackers captures the beauty and excitement of South East Asia, and the drama of young people trying to stay sane so far away from home and everything they've ever known.