Ray Lorkin, the head law enforcement officer in the small rural community of Wala Wala, Australia, is concerned that the longstanding tensions between the indigenous aboriginal people and the white settlers are about to explode. The situation escalates when it is revealed that Kate, the white spouse of the local schoolteacher Les, has desecrated a sacred site by clandestinely meeting her aboriginal lover, Tony, there. This revelation leads to a shocking murder that threatens to tear the small town apart.