Nine-year-old Johnnie, an orphan from the city, has recently been placed with Stuart and Kay Heath, who live in the Australian outback on Quidong Station, a cattle ranch they run for its wealthy owner. But Johnnie is not quite the foster child they had in mind; in Kay"s opinion he is "cheeky and lazy, cowardly and stubborn." So when he claims to have witnessed a murder, they remind him of the boy who cried wolf. Finally, he admits he was lying. Johnnie is about to be sent back to the orphanage when he and Kay are invited on a camping trip. A special treat to give Johnnie another chance to adjust to life in the outback? Or a cunning trap?