Wellington Point is a small town at the southern edge of a big empty continent. It is a small decaying town whose inhabitants struggle to make a living in a gossipy, parochial society at the mercy of the elements. Into this world steps Alex Dovey, claiming his inheritance of his parents' ramshackle coastal farm. Alex is lifted only by the start of his relationship with Merridy, herself a wounded, incomplete figure. As Merridy's need for children is thwarted, she transfers her energy toward the sea and those efforts are poured into an oyster farming enterprise. Amid a violent storm, Merridy and Alex rescue a young man named Kish from a stricken sailing ship. Kish is not entirely what he seems and his salvation from the storm unleashes a slow release tsunami of pent-up emotion from the fractures of Alex and Merridy's relationship.