Even though 16 years have passed, Billie will never recover from the murder of her daughter, Jess, and clings to her memory—and the site of her death—like a life raft. Daniel, who was a toddler when his mother was killed, can recall little of what happened but knows if he’s to have any chance of a better future he needs to move on from that defining event—if only his grandmother would let him. Meanwhile Daniel’s stepmother, Carla, also feels trapped by Jess’s legacy but has a plan that she believes will help everyone to escape from the long shadow of the past.

The Carvalho brothers - handsome Marcelinho and clever Antonio - are destined to spend their lives hunting whales. But the arrival of an unexpected gift changes both their lives forever. As the younger Carvalho discovers the fascinating world of the whale, a chasm opens between the two brothers, made all the more perilous by their shared passion for the alluring and wilful Margarida Machado.

Desperate to enjoy their empty nest, Jen and Andeep downsize to the countryside, to forage, upcycle and fall in love again, only to be joined by their two 20-something daughters, Asha and Camille. Living on top of each other in a tiny house, with no way to make money, tensions simmer, and as Jen and Andeep focus increasingly on themselves, the girls become isolated, argumentative and violent.

Recovering addict Eric Johnstone is turning his life around. Then one small moment changes everything, and Eric is sent down a dark path that leads him towards a life-or-death decision. Just months after he took a job at the retirement village in Point Imlay, the tide goes out on the town’s oyster beds, and Eric’s body is revealed. When Senior Detective John Darken’s business card is discovered in Eric’s pocket, J.D. transfers to Point Imlay to help with the investigation. 

Connie Starr was always a difficult child. Her mother knew as soon as Connie entered the world that day in Ballarat in 1934 and opened her lungs to scream, there was more chaos in the world than before and it wouldn't leave until Connie did. From the safety of a branch high in her lemon tree where she speaks to angels, she sees the world for what it is - a swirling mass of beauty and darkness, of trauma and family, of love and war and truth and lies - lies that might just undo her and drive her to a desperate act.