Back in 1957, nine - year - old Zidra Vincent met Jim Cadwallader for the first time. Fourteen years later, their bond of friendship - forged during a childhood in the beautiful coastal town of Jingera - is still strong. But is friendship all they dream of? Jim is now a respected war correspondent in Cambodia, though he has plans to come home for good. Because there is something very important he wants to say to Zidra. Zidra, meanwhile, is an ambitious reporter at the Sydney Morning Chronicle, and the seeds of a major story have just landed in her lap. Life is looking good, if only she could share it with the man who knows her best. Then, while at work in the newsroom one morning, Zidra catches sight of a wire - service bulletin. A story out of Cambodia. The body of a Western journalist has been discovered near Phnom Penh. And her world collapses around her...