When Bush Pilot Jim McDonnell and his wife Julie drive out to a remote camp on the Palmer River west of Cairns to visit an old prospector they find the old man near death following what appears to have been an unfortunate accident. Police investigations into the assault of a prostitute in Cairns at around the same time suggest that there is a connection between the two incidents and that the prospector's injuries may not have been accidental. Eventually a connection between the two assaults is discovered and a train of events is set in place that exposes a web of political and police corruption that leaves McDonnell facing criminal charges. In order to clear his name he embarks on his own investigation which results in a life threatening confrontation in a remote location in the Cape York wilderness.