It's 1891. Maggie McAllister and her family are caught up in one of the most dramatic events in Australia's history: the Shearers Strike. The trouble that erupts between the Shearers Union, the pastoralists and the government has never been seen before on the quiet streets of Barcaldine. Maggie plays her part in the Unions struggle in no small way herself, through her writing. Her friends, a local pastoralist family, do not see things the same way, and for Maggie, singing a rebel song may yet have heartbreaking consequences.
