It seemed such a good idea. Lockie, a retired New Zealand schoolteacher, moves to Macleay Island, in Australia's Moreton Bay after the death of his beloved wife. He settles to the subtropical island's lifestyle and makes friends with the local characters, but his peace is disrupted when he rents the other half of his duplex to an ex-model, Renata, and her seven-year-old son, JJ. After two near fatal incidents Renata convinces Lockie she is being threatened by her ex-partner, retired rugby league superstar Big Joe Hayson, a multi-millionaire who owns The Stud, a Brisbane nightclub. Joe, it appears, wants her and the boy dead. She decides her only hope is to kill him first. Lockie doesn't like that idea and does his best to help Renata against Big Joe, his two formidable henchmen and the dark underbelly of Brisbane. All he has is courage, cleverness, humour and his belief in justice, but one night, it lands him in The Stud nightclub, and Lockie is fighting for his life.