 In the desert village of Wala Wala, a jailed Aboriginal is found dead in local lawman Ray Lorkin s police lock-up. In an attempt to reconcile aboriginal traditions vs. Australian law, Lorkin allows Mannga, the father of the dead prisoner, a "pay back" to restore order. But conflict heightens when the local school teacher s wife s passionate affair with her husband s Aboriginal teacher s aide leads to sacrilege and murder.