Gordon is a loner who wakes up penniless on a deserted railway station somewhere in Outback Australia. In a lonely cafe he spies a woman whom he recognises from many years ago - as the girl he grew up with, whom he hasn't seen in fifteen years. He discovers that Doreen has a daughter named Shirley who was taken off her by the authorities ten years ago when she and her partner were both drug addicts. They rescue Shirley from an orphanage in Sydney. She is now a 'troubled teenager'. As a means of rehabilitation, Gordon and Doreen take Shirley back to their home town of Casterson to revive some old memories and perhaps aid Shirley's healing process. In Casterson they discover some shocking things about their own families. Gordon finds that many memories of his childhood have been repressed and altered in his own mind. He come across some disturbing facts about himself, his brother, his mother and particularly his father, who he once believed was a man of impeccable values and standards. The more Gordon delves into his past the more shocking are the things he uncovers, until he begins to seriously doubt his own sanity. What follows is a hauntingly painful trip down memory lane for Gordon, where many long-held myths are exploded in his face. This is compounded by the fact that Shirley's condition becomes increasingly more serious as she experiments with drugs, self-harm and attempted suicide.