It's 1911; Kerenza arrives in South Australia's Mallee with its heat, red dust and poisonous snakes. It's wilder than Cornwall; there's so much work to set up a canvas house and a farm. Kerenza needs to be strong and learn fast, to not get lost in the scrub, to be secret friends with the mysterious girl in the bush. Will Jacob (the meanest boy she's met), accept her? Can she ever belong?