Linh, a post-doctoral fellow at the prestigious Bryce University in the U.S., learns that her father is terminally ill, and returns to her hometown of Melbourne to be with him as the end approaches. She is fortunate to obtain a research fellowship in pharmacology at the Verdelho Institute in Melbourne to work with Carl Bradshaw, the Institute's Chief Scientist. Bradshaw has an international reputation in pharmacology, and together, he and Linh investigate a possible link between Prosipone, an analgesic made by Krebs Pharmaceuticals, and foetal abnormalities.
As the research proceeds, Linh becomes worried that her co-worker has more than just objective scientific reasons in wishing to see the Krebs product discredited. Her attempts to extricate herself from a fraught situation have dire consequences for her career, and for everybody else at the Verdelho Institute.