Simon Henderson is at boarding school in Canada while his father works in Hong Kong, and his mother lives in England. When his parents visit him in the holidays, Simon discovers that his mother has schizophrenia.
Set in the outback, the film explores a series of interpersonal relationships as an Italian immigrant and an Australian put aside their cultural differences to search for a runaway girl.
Diane Lane is a young woman who is elected to federal parliament, and quickly learns of the conniving ambition of many of her colleagues, including her boyfriend who is already a parliamentary minister in the government. Diane succeeds.
Fifteen-year-old Sarah is at a crisis point in her life - she has to cope with deafness, her mother's boyfriend, peer group acceptance and an increasing sexual awakening.
