Marge Hills (Rachel Ward) feels stifled by her marriage and her staid life in a small Australian town in 1939. Marge's husband, Sonny (Bryan Brown), surprises her with his openness to her desire for something more, even giving his blessing to her desire for extramarital sex. When a charismatic stranger named Neville Gifford (Sam Neill) comes to town, Marge identifies him as a suitable lover. But her attraction develops into an obsession after he spurns her advances in favor of other women.
