In 1938, Englishman Bluey arrives in the north Queensland town of Silkwood. Two sisters are interested in him, Kate and Dusty. Their mother is Silkwood's matriarch
Series 2 picks up in 1947, a time of growth, prosperity and adjustment to post-war living. On-going friction between the increasing migrant population and their suspicious Australian counterparts leads to community unrest. When Kate (Anne Louise Lambert, Picnic At Hanging Rock) is set to marry her sweetheart Franco (Joseph Spano) it sparks a newfound intolerance to the idea of mixed race relationships.
The final chapter takes the story into the 1950s, where Gina and her brother Paolo have established themselves as successful cane growers. But the future is not all roses for the people of Silkwood – as Prime Minister Menzies’ 1951 Federal Referendum to outlaw communism causes all manner of instability within the small community, bringing back haunting memories of oppression to many of the migrants.