Five Australians on a sailing holiday come across a fishing boat full of desperate asylum seekers. Deciding to help, they tow the boat but, in the middle of the night, it disappears. Years later, one of the Australians, Ryan, steps into a taxi driven by one of the refugees, Ismail. Overjoyed to learn the refugees reached Australia, he invites Ismail and his family to a barbeque –reuniting everyone. It’s there that Ryan and the others learn the truth – someone cut the rope between the two boats and, as a result, the fishing boat sank and seven people died.

Ismail, grieving the loss of his daughter, reports the crime at sea to the Australian Federal police and the Australians are investigated. Ismail’s move causes a rift in his family – his wife, Zahra, wants to leave the past behind; his brother Bilal wants actions, not words. When Damien attempts a rapprochement with Ismail and his brother, Bilal, sees red. Tensions between the Australians and the refugees increase further, with mysterious threats and acts of vandalism – and the surprise discovery that the teenaged children of the families, Maddie and Asad, have been in contact with each other. Secrets start to come to the surface and Ismail turns his suspicions closer to home.

Bree and Ryan are struggling to keep their marriage together. Ismail seeks revenge – setting fire to the now docked yacht that was the beginning of all this trouble. Bilal, however, becomes the suspect and, when he is arrested for the arson, Helen finds herself drawn towards wanting to help him. But the weight of suspicion still hangs over Helen, as well as the others and the truth is revealed.

The truth leads to danger, as Ismail – blinded by grief – tries to get retribution, leading to a final confrontation and the possibility of new beginnings.