This is a story about a shameful part of Australia's history as seen through the diary of a fictional teenage girl called Rainbird.

Rainbird, in her simple but evocative style, tells how her father, who died under mysterious circumstances, had been a secret volunteer in a highly confidential undertaking by the Menzies Government in the 1950s.

Rainbird tells how her older brother Archer embarks on a mission to reveal the truth and in so doing, discovers a massive government cover-up. His quest to find the truth and gain compensation for the people who have suffered and died is met by intimidation, bloodshed and murder.