The happy routine life of two Perth teenagers is shattered one November day in 1950 when they are accused of theft. With evidence mounting against them and fearing a jail term they run from the security of their suburban lifestyle and disappear into the outback where they discover an Australia and a way of life they never imagined existed. Evading all attempts to find them they meet a happy-go-lucky Irish prospector, team up with a legendary Aboriginal drover who mentors them on a cattle drive from the Northern Territory down the Finke River trail into South Australia and make an unlikely friend of an Afghan cameleer, finally ending up in the harsh outback opal mining environment of Coober Pedy. It is story packed with surprises, interesting characters, humour, warmth and adventure, as the two mates triumph over adversity to discover their purpose in life.