Bonnie and Andy experiment with throwing stones, trying to replicate how tektites bury themselves upon impact. Bonnie explains that tektites can remain buried for thousands of years before erosion brings them to the surface—“changed forever in an instant” (328) when they strike the earth.

Andy shows Matt new mineral samples Bonnie has brought: copper-bearing rocks in vivid blues and greens. Bonnie observes the irony that these brilliant colors developed in total darkness underground and only become visible when mining brings them to light. When Matt asks about her survey work, she deflects, citing company confidentiality.

In Andy’s room, he shows Bonnie a letter from Harry Badger describing his father’s mesothelioma. The union claims asbestos exposure caused it; the company blames inadequate safety gear. Andy asks whether Bonnie is searching for asbestos at Meredith Downs and whether a mine would make him sick. Bonnie reassures him it remains a distant possibility. Driving away, she resolves to investigate the health risks more thoroughly.

At the Wanderrie Creek Police Station, Pete applies to register a new rifle. Constable Stidworthy hints that procedures have changed under the new sergeant. Rundle approves the license but asks Pete into his office, questioning him about his friendship with the late Philip MacBride. He reveals he recognized Pete’s name from an old file as the person who discovered Rose MacBride’s body.

Complaining that Wisheart left sloppy records, Rundle presses for details. Pete maintains Rose died from a fall. Rundle notes Pete calls her “Rosie,” suggesting closeness, and asks about the father of her child. Pete deflects. Rundle asserts it is never too late to investigate a potential crime. Outside, Pete tells his dog Strife that the new sergeant will be trouble.

Myrtle Eedle studies an old newspaper photograph of Rose MacBride from December 1957, her first glimpse of Rose’s face. The image triggers a memory from when Myrtle was 17 and pregnant in a maternity home. She recalls another girl, Shirley, whose baby was taken for adoption. Shirley subsequently went missing and was found dead after falling from a balcony.

Myrtle connects the official explanations for both deaths, both described as falls. She remembers the rage she felt at absent fathers who escaped consequence while young women paid with their lives. She reviews her notebook entry on Rose and adds an asterisk. Cutting out the article, she recalls Pete Peachey and the expensive women’s lingerie he posts. Her suspicion settles on him as a possible candidate for Andy’s father.

During a December lunch at Meredith Downs, Coral and Humpty Dumpton announce they have been approved to adopt. Lorna reflects that one family’s joy in adoption is rooted in another’s loss. Humpty teases Matt about Bonnie, suggesting he would make a good father.

Days later, Bonnie watches an enormous flock of budgerigars at a rainwater lake. She reflects on her former fiancé Stewart and how she contorted herself to meet his demands. Then, she contrasts him with Matt, who accepts her as she is. Though Matt maintains emotional distance and seems broken, she loves him. Her uncle wants her to leave since the survey has yielded few results, so Bonnie is running out of time.

Lorna, motivated to secure Matt’s happiness, invites Bonnie to help harvest vegetables. After securing her promise of secrecy, Lorna reveals Rose took her own life and attempted to kill Andy as well. The boy knows nothing. Lorna warns Bonnie to exercise extreme caution with the family tree project. Days later, Bonnie tells Matt about the conversation.

In a letter dated December 12, Andy confides to Harry Badger that he has two candidates for his father: Pete Peachey and Miles Beaumont.

Nearly two weeks after Humpty’s visit, Cyclone Linda unexpectedly strikes Meredith Downs. The rare dry cyclone brings violent winds but no rain. Throughout the terrible night, Matt worries about Bonnie, and the ordeal forces him to confront his feelings.

By morning, fine sand has infiltrated every surface, paint has been sandblasted from vehicles, and roofs torn from sheds. A telegram arrives confirming Bonnie and her crew are safe. Surveying damage, Matt discovers the storm has stripped the topsoil from overgrazed areas.

Matt drives to the partially destroyed mining camp and finds Bonnie. They embrace. She reveals the survey results have been disappointing, so the company was planning to withdraw, and she has been called to Perth. Bonnie implies she would stay if he asked. When Matt says she does not know certain things about him, Bonnie replies she is willing to take the risk. Moved by her courage, Matt asks her to marry him.

Days after the cyclone, Myrtle reengages Rundle about Rose MacBride. On a confidential basis, she suggests Pete Peachey might be relevant, citing intuition and noting he has remained at Meredith Downs for years and posts expensive gifts for women. She implies Peachey could be responsible for Rose’s death and possibly the father of her child.

That evening, Rundle contemplates the Rose MacBride file, the last unresolved case from Wisheart’s tenure. He concludes suicide is probable and that Pete likely knows more than he admits. The file’s label, marked as defunct, makes him think of a requiem mass for the dead.

Before leaving for a mining conference in Sydney, Bonnie sits by a river near her parents’ house, reflecting on her future at Meredith Downs. She thinks about Lorna’s warning regarding the family tree project. Just before departing the station, Andy gave her a valued tektite and made her swear secrecy about a note from Miles Beaumont to Rose, dated April 1958, in which Miles apologizes for hurting her.

Bonnie considers the note a significant clue. She decides Matt is wrong to discourage Andy’s search, and now that she will be family, she has a right to intervene. She believes knowing the truth is better than ignorance and hopes solving the mystery might lift the heavy burden Matt carries.

Pete drives to Proserpine Mine and finds Sergeant Rundle inspecting the site. Rundle confirms this is where Rose died and accuses Pete of being unhelpful regarding Andy’s father, calling him the key to solving the case. He theorizes Rose either jumped or was pushed by the father. He questions how Pete happened upon the scene and asks how he can be certain Pete did not kill her. Pete dismisses this as illogical—he would hardly have rescued the baby if he had tried to murder them both. Rundle threatens to question the MacBrides and expresses frustration, saying he needs the truth.

Rundle proposes a theory: Rose died by suicide, and Pete is the father. He promises that if Pete responds, he will destroy the file and leave the MacBrides alone. Then, Pete says he will not contradict the theory, implicitly confessing. After Rundle departs, Pete tells Strife, his dog, the false confession was necessary to protect Matt and Lorna.

In early 1970, Andy continues his secret investigation. One evening, he pretends to stargaze but instead sets up surveillance on Pete’s camp. Through binoculars, he watches Pete emerge from a creek bath and notices severe scars covering his back. Pete, naked except for boots, plays a gramophone record, enters his tent, and reemerges wearing a silk nightgown, then dances slowly by the fire, smiling with tears on his face.

Andy flees, overwhelmed. By morning, his disgust transforms into excitement at possessing a secret. He decides the story is funny and removes Pete from his list of potential fathers.

A flashback reveals that after the war, Pete’s wife Pearl discovered him at her dressing table wearing her nightgown and lipstick. Unable to cope, she called him a “pervert” and forced him to leave his home and young daughters. Later, across the country, Phil MacBride recognized Pete in Wanderrie Creek and offered him work shooting kangaroos. Pete found a sense of belonging with the MacBrides.

Matt and Andy attend a weekend gymkhana, a variety of competitive equestrian events, at neighboring Maundy Creek station. Matt realizes the next day is January 10, a date that has always weighed on him, but this year he did not notice its approach, likely due to Bonnie.

Around the campfire, junior attendees tell frightening stories. A girl named Kelly grabs Andy’s arm, and he feels a spark of attraction. Kelly initiates a game where participants must share secrets or accept dares. Andy’s first attempt—about climbing into the forbidden mine—is deemed boring. That night, Matt says good night to Andy, feeling unexpected emotion at leaving him alone overnight for the first time. The next morning, when Matt returns, Andy worries that Johnno MacBride and his friends will bully him again.

Pete judges the gymkhana shooting competition. When Bradley “Dunce” Waghorn shoots at the wrong target, Pete disqualifies him. Enraged, Dunce departs with Johnno MacBride, Snake (Tobias Yenning), and Greg Crimp to drink and shoot recreationally.

Later, a bullet strikes Pete’s vehicle. He discovers the four intoxicated young men firing randomly, having killed three emu chicks. When Dunce drunkenly aims at Pete, Pete seizes the rifle and tells them to collect it Monday once sober.

Sunday evening, the children resume their secrets game. Under pressure, Andy reveals his secret about Pete. Later, Kelly relays it to her older brother, Dunce.

Late Sunday night, Johnno, Snake, Dunce, and Greg Crimp invade Pete’s camp. They have heard Andy’s secret and seized Pete’s rifles. They kick him, call him a “pervert,” and discover his crimson petticoat. Greg throws Pete’s poetry volume into the fire. They mock his back scars and order him to wear the petticoat. Pete mentally retreats to a defensive place he created during imprisonment, where he can dissociate from pain.

As they beat him, Strife breaks free and attacks Dunce, who reflexively shoots the dog. Enraged, Pete assaults Dunce but the others overpower him. Johnno smears Pete’s face with scarlet lipstick while they hold him down. As Dunce approaches to sexually assault Pete, a gunshot rings out. It is Matt, with Andy running behind him. Matt shoots the weapon from Dunce’s hands. Andy seizes one of Pete’s rifles and aims at Johnno; when Johnno taunts Matt, Andy fires a warning shot. Matt forces the four men to leave. Pete goes to Strife and, after a moment of silent communication with the dying dog, euthanizes him with precise shots.

Walking back to the car, Andy confesses through tears that he told Kelly the secret. Matt explains that some secrets are private and harmless, and sharing them only causes hurt. He gently reprimands Andy for pointing a gun at someone but acknowledges his accurate aim.

Three days after the assault, Pete arrives at the machinery shed, visibly aged and bruised. Matt urges him to report the attack, offering to testify. Pete refuses, arguing that given spreading gossip and Rundle’s nature, he himself would likely face charges.

Pete observes that the world is not ready for some secrets and advises Matt to guard his own carefully. When Pete announces his goodbye, Matt desperately offers a management position, but Pete declines. He refuses to see Lorna and Andy, wanting to avoid emotional farewells. He instructs Matt to care for the family and keep Andy safe. Matt watches Pete drive away.

A flashback reveals that on the stormy night of March 29, 1958, Pete took shelter near the Top Shed. Seeing lamplight in the shearing shed, he looked through a window and observed two nearly naked figures sleeping intertwined on a wool bale—people he recognized. He slipped away before dawn, his tire tracks erased by rain.

Matt waits in Perth carrying an engagement ring, planning to meet Bonnie’s parents. Bonnie arrives and reveals that while in Sydney, she investigated Miles Beaumont for Andy’s behalf, who had given her the note from Miles to Rose. Stunned, Matt listens as Bonnie explains she tracked Miles to Sydney and discovered he has a male partner. While this does not eliminate him biologically, she believes his denial. From Matt’s reaction, she realizes he already knew Miles was gay. Matt is shaken by the note’s existence and Bonnie’s proximity to the truth.

Bonnie mentions the attack on Pete, and Matt confirms Pete has left permanently. Haunted by Pete’s warning to keep Andy safe, Matt drives Bonnie to her parents’ house. At the driveway, moments before entering, Matt tells Bonnie he cannot marry her. He says he cannot explain why and expects she will never forgive him. Bonnie tries to reassure him, but Matt insists, breaking their engagement.

Days after the broken engagement, Lorna measures Andy for his boarding school uniform, explaining he will start at Scotch College earlier than planned. She reassures him it is a privilege, not punishment for revealing Pete’s secret.

At the post office, Andy encounters Bonnie. She says she found nothing regarding Miles. He is shocked when she tells him she is leaving permanently because she and Matt have ended their relationship. Devastated, Andy reveals he is also leaving for school. Bonnie, fighting tears, gives him her prized arsenopyrite specimen, saying she is entrusting it to him as she knows he will treasure it. They shake hands and she departs.

At home, Andy furiously attacks Matt, who restrains him and explains that some things are complex. Andy tearfully asks if the breakup is his fault, worried Bonnie did not want to be burdened with him. Matt reassures him it is not his fault.

Bonnie visits Wallaby Ridge for a final view and unexpectedly encounters Matt. Her rehearsed anger evaporates at the sight of him. Matt tells her he tries to do what is right, but some things are beyond a solution, and he has no right to involve her in his problems.

Bonnie finds resolve and says she understands: she simply is not the right person for him. Matt calls himself “damaged goods.” Moved by his sorrow, Bonnie takes his hand and says perhaps they will work out in another lifetime. She kisses his cheek goodbye, tells him to look after himself and Andy, and expresses genuine hope for his happiness.

Matt watches her car recede, fighting an overwhelming urge to run after her. Remembering her demand for no secrets, he knows he cannot share his burden and thinks she deserves better than him.