Steve liked Celia from the moment they met. But following a clash with her boss, Raelene Beagle-Thorpe, Minister for Employment, he finds himself on national television branded as Australia's biggest dole bludger. Now Steve has to prove to Celia, to himself, and to the whole country, that there's more to him than meets the eye. With a little help from his friends, he might just do it.

When teacher Simon arrives in a small, secluded village to take over the local school, he is surprised to discover that his predecessor has disappeared without a trace - and that nobody seems too concerned about it. As Simon probes deeper into the disappearance, the inhabitants of a forbidding estate called "Summerfield" take on more and more significance.