The year is 1990, and for twenty-something Tom O'Connor, life is good. Descended from a family of Queensland pioneers, he runs a newspaper at Airlie Beach. Success and women come his way easily. But that is soon to change. An 1860s incident, in which an Aboriginal woman was killed, has surfaced to haunt the O'Connor family. Tom's ancestor should have been investigated over her death but was saved by his magistrate brother. This dubious act invoked the O'Connor Protocol - a family tradition that obliges an O'Connor to protect his sibling.

Generations later, land-developer Todd Steele, whose descendant took the blame for the crime, intends squaring the account. Tom O'Connor is alerted to Todd's mission only when drugs appear in the beautiful Whitsundays.

Adding to the chaos, an Aboriginal tribe inexplicably registers a sacred site on the O'Connor farm. Billy - Tom's Aboriginal colleague at the newspaper - has his own story to tell about drugs and tribal injustice.

Drawing on their limited resources, the pair grapple with the threat to their paradise. They uncover more than they bargain for. Will the O'Connor family have to invoke the protocol again?