A twenty-year-old case of murder in Cairns gets revisited by retired Chief Superintendent (CIB), "Sarge" Downs after he sees the person he helped convict of that murder walking the streets of Cairns in far north Queensland, Australia. The man had served his time, but ever curious, Sarge follows him. He felt that there was always something wrong about the investigation, the trial, the plea and the sentence. The alleged murderer had pleaded guilty despite privately saying to Sarge that he believed his wife and daughter were still alive, but had been kidnapped.

A whole chain of events ensues as Sarge, his best friend Nat Johns, and their partners delve deeply into the past trying to discover the real truth about what happened to a young woman and a six-month-old baby. Everything seemed to revolve around the man's family trust and the machinations of his mother.