At the turn of the last century, in the first years of the new nation, Clytie Hart, bareback rider, travels with her mother and her circus family through the back roads of rural Victoria. Wildebrand’s Circus has seen better days and when they are persuaded to perform at Hoffnung, a small, forgotten town in the Gold Triangle, Clytie’s life is changed forever.
Little does she know that her chance meeting on the side of the road with Rom, a handsome stranger, will be the catalyst that stops her roving ways and sees her settling into life on the edge of a small country town. Love for her mother and Rom cements Clytie's place in town, but soon she is left to fend for herself as tragedy and war strike. And without the help and the love of friends found in the most unlikely of places, Clytie will never solve the tragic mystery that threatens to blight her life forever.