Siao Lin is a young Chinese geologist, who, after surviving an unfortunate assault aboard a drilling platform, finds herself in Australia and in a position to search for further knowledge about her ancestor, Tamo, who arrived in Australia in the 1850s. Gold nuggets sent back to China by Tamo are found to be high in the rare and exotic mineral cobalt, and locating their source is suddenly very important to all manner of protagonists. Some of these are willing to stop at nothing to find where the gold came from. Russel Gibb, employed by a clandestine government security organisation, known colloquially as 'The Organisation', is sent to help Siao Lin, but when the crunch comes it seems Siao Lin must stand up for herself. Mysterious songs, native men with subtle knowledge of the past and ethereal dreamtime visions are entwined with ancient legends become real and solid action as the story climaxes in the rugged Northern Flinders Ranges in South Australia.