Tom Pryce-Bowyer returns to his cabin in Queensland's wet tropics from overseas to write the life of a celebrated American photographer. Expecting only forest animals to disturb his concentration, he tries to deflect the quixotic plans of Jack, a former intelligence officer who wants to thwart the promotion of an unsavoury American general. As he researches for his biography, he's forced to confront secrets about the recent atrocities in East Timor. A more pleasant distraction for Tom is Emjay, a New York publisher, with whom he strikes up a whirlwind affair after his marriage break down. To Tom's dismay, his idyllic rainforest, and the life of his inquisitive neighbour - a colourful southern cassowary of mystical dimensions - become endangered by his very presence and his friends' activism, even as his late-blooming romance begins to fray.