Glenyse Ward was taken from her Aboriginal mother and put into Wandering Mission in the south-west of Western Australia to grow up in a regimented and enclosed world of German nuns. At sixteen, again without choice, she was sent away to a wealthy farm to be little more than a slave. Soon Glenyse was wishing she was back at the Mission. A weaker spirit would have been crushed but Glenyse is supported by Bill, the old handyman, and her friend, Anne, who is working on a nearby farm. They manage to find friendship and good humour in between their endless chores. But they need to escape to a brighter and better future.