Twenty-seven-year old Estelle Goldstein is sent on an assignment to investigate the devastation of AIDS in South Africa. There she encounters Doctor Mabunda, a once esteemed virologist, now an alcoholic harbouring the guilt of a dark past. Dismissing his slurred rants, Estelle returns to her family and its offbeat dynamics: eccentric, animal liberationist, clairvoyant grandmother; pharmaceutical exec father. Rushed to hospital from her father's mansion, Estelle finds herself suspended between life and death. From a series of foreboding dreams that act as a warning of impending danger, Estelle awakens to a new-found awareness. When the good-looking Afro-Aussie , Ryan Knight, enters her room, Estelle experiences an awakening of a different kind. Their fated encounter unravels over time to bring to light a dark secret.