In 1973 James's seventeen-year-old sister, Maria, disappeared while on her way home from school. Over thirty years later her remains are uncovered outside Broken Hill, 1,200 kilometers from her home.

Maria's disappearance shattered her family and had strange repercussions for her ten-year-old brother, who was left to cope alone while his parents struggled to deal with his sister's disappearance. With her discovery after so long, Maria becomes real for James, a sudden violent death in the family, and he sets out to try to discover what his sister was really like and what happened to her.

As he seeks answers, James meets his sister's old school friends, Jennifer and Pat, and discovers their different memories of that time long ago and of a young woman standing on the edge of adulthood, who may have been quiet and shy or who may have been spoiled and living dangerously. During his search he is reconnected with his ex-wife, Allison, and begins to learn to live without Maria's presence in his life.