"There's a shadow behind him, a huge dark cloud, loose like smoke. But it doesn't drift away; it tightens, rising up tall and thin. It draws back into an S shape. It's a snake! A death adder!" Dale's dream tells him that his brother Sean is in danger. But he cannot know that what happens to Sean will have a devastating effect on all the people at Long Hole community, both white and Aboriginal. After their trip to Barrumbi, everything will change.