Detective Jake Morrison thought his transfer to rural South Australia was career suicide—until he discovers a body in the abandoned shearing shed at Thornfield Station.

What appears to be a workplace accident soon reveals itself as cold-blooded murder. Station manager Gareth Sullivan was killed with a wool press handle, his body moved to cover up the crime. As Morrison digs deeper into the isolated sheep station's finances, he uncovers a web of embezzlement, gambling debts, and desperate choices.

When Morrison identifies bookkeeper Bronwyn Hayes as his prime suspect, her world comes crashing down. Fifty thousand dollars in stolen funds, crushing gambling addiction, and Adelaide debt collectors closing in—Hayes had run out of options long before she picked up that fatal weapon.

But the investigation takes a deadly turn when the debt collectors arrive at Thornfield Station armed and determined to recover their money. With temperatures soaring past forty-seven degrees and no backup for hours, Morrison must survive both extreme heat and extreme violence to bring justice to the outback.

In a land where trust means survival and betrayal can be fatal, one moment of desperation can destroy lives and test the bonds that hold isolated communities together.