Reporter judith wilkes leaves her husband and two sons in sydney and goes to malaysia to cover the story of the vietnamese boat people. She becomes romantically involved with kanan, and strikes up a friendship with lady minou hobday, who keeps a regular vigil at "Turtle beach" where the refugees try to land secretly in the hope that one day her own children will arrive. Accompanying minou one night, judith witnesses a brutal massacre by the malaysians which spurs her on to expose the horrors of the internment camps at bidong.