Jenny Morrison is bravely trying to move on with her life. Her husband missing amidst the turmoil of WWII, she takes refuge with Ray King, a slightly sinister, stuttering boy who disappeared from Woody Creek as a teenager but has now reappeared. In return for regular 'wifely duties', Ray offers Jenny and her three children sanctuary at his house in Melbourne. For a time, she is happy. But then Jenny's father - the philandering impresario Archie...