Amy has only ever known what life is like in the Clearing. She knows what to do to please her elders, and how to make sure life in the community remains happy and calm. Until a newcomer, a younger girl, joins the 'family' and offers a glimpse of the outside world. Freya is living an isolated life with her son and their dog, going to great lengths to keep contact with the outside world like an everyday mum while being utterly terrified by it. When news breaks of a missing girl - a child the same age as Freya's son, Billy - Amy's and Freya's stories intertwine, and the secrets of the past will crawl inexorably into the present. This rural Aussie town's dark underbelly is about to be exposed - and lives will be destroyed...