To Alice Foster, Jim Peterson's proposal of marriage from Australia is a passport to a better life. Full of hope, she arrives in Fremantle with her young brother, Tom, to be met by notorious gambler Frank Crossley, who is looking for cheap labour. Alice's dream turns to nightmare - until she falls in love with handsome surgeon Ned McCartney. With Ned's help, she escapes the bondage of the Crossley ranch and learns the secret of Jim Peterson's disappearance.