Malti Fortune is uneasy. She has turned away from her birthplace of Fiji to make a new life in Melbourne. But all that she thought was certain is now in danger of being swept away. Her husband Benjamin, a linguist, is a conundrum. He has changed. Or has she? The stories and superstitions of her childhood are telling her something she knows, but doesn't want to hear - about being a trespasser, about not belonging. In the years to come, Malti and Benjamin's daughters are also to learn some hard truths. For Ellery, the remembered fragments of good times aren't enough to sustain her anymore. Verona, on the verge of adulthood, can't imagine a world without her beloved Dad. He is her rock and hero. But Malti and Ellery both know that you can't depend on him. All three women are seeking answers, each haunted by her own ghosts - and by Benjamin...