Sacred Places tells the story of Paul, a young boy of mixed indigenous blood, who is chosen by the remaining elders of his tribe to learn their language, stories of the dream-time and to protect and preserve their sacred sites. Paul spends all his school and university holidays learning the ways of his people and his relationship with one of the elders; N'gardi and his wife, Mary, are central to the early story. After graduation, Paul goes on to be a Northern Territory Park ranger, responsible for the country of his people. Paul's story culminates in his conflict with Soni Jadara. Soni's family was slaughtered by the Dutch during their occupation of Indonesia. Soni becomes a senior Indonesian army officer and participates in the murder of an English journalist following the slaughter of the Balibo Five when Indonesia invades East Timor. Soni and his beautiful wife, Karina, become part-owners of a cattle property that adjoins Paul's territory in the Northern Territory. His property contains a bauxite mining tenement and his plans to build a railway through Paul's country to ship ore to the coast lead to an inevitable clash.