Based on historical events, Siggins creates a fictional version of the real-life Pelican Narrows, weaving a colourful tale resplendent with its own cavalcade of dynamic, diverse characters whose stories play out against the backdrop of a visit from a condescending celebrity writer. The conflicts between Aboriginals and settlers, Protestants and Catholics, young and old, traditional and progressive, material and spiritual, all shape life in the little Northern community.