If Not Us

Hesse Templeton is a seventeen-year-old surfer living in Shelbourne, a small Australian coastal town. He lives with his mother, Imogen Stapleton, a nurse. His father, Trevor, drowned surfing at Razors, a dangerous offshore reef, seven years earlier; his body was never recovered. Since then, Theo Turnbull, the owner of the local surf shop where Hesse works weekends, has served as a surrogate father figure.

One Friday, Hesse paddles out at Haystacks beach, where Jago Crothers, a local mechanic's apprentice a few years older, drops in on his wave, slams a board into his ankles, and punches him. After surfing alone, Hesse notices a girl sitting by herself at the car park. She speaks with an accent and gives only brief answers.

At home, Hesse lies to Imogen about his black eye and mentions the girl. Imogen drives out to offer her a ride. That evening, Imogen hosts a meeting of Shelbourne Action, the local environment group. Hadron, the multinational that owns the coalmine and power station, has put its Shelbourne assets on the market. Three newcomers join: Oliver Bairstow, a Melbourne barrister; Ruby Watson, a young doctor; and James, a large man called Bear. Oliver proposes blocking the sale by pressuring banks and shareholders, while Ruby flags high respiratory infection rates she links to emissions. After the meeting, Imogen tells Hesse the girl is Fenna, a Dutch exchange student staying with Colin and Julie Turner.

The next day at the surf shop, Fenna introduces herself and asks Hesse to teach her to surf. After work, Hesse rides to the mine fence and photographs the open-cut pit. A Hadron security worker named Stanton confronts him and warns that Hadron knows about the campaign. On Sunday, Hesse takes Fenna to Corrals, a quiet beach. She struggles but finally stands on her last attempt. Walking her home that evening, Fenna pulls Hesse behind a parked car and kisses him.

Fenna disappears from school for a week. She later tells Hesse she has severe anxiety, describing panic attacks and a feeling of being watched. She has been considering returning to the Netherlands. Hesse suggests she see Ruby for medication; Fenna agrees but insists on using a chemist other than Colin Turner's pharmacy for privacy. The following Saturday, Jago takes Fenna for a surf lesson arranged by Julie Turner, but Fenna flees, uncomfortable with him.

Oliver and Ruby press Hesse to speak at a community forum. He reluctantly agrees, and Fenna helps him write the speech. At Castlereagh High, Hesse introduces Fenna to his friends: Jake, a South Sudanese refugee whose father Ibrahim drives trucks at the mine; Mus, another refugee; and Tina Best, captain of the girls' football team. Felicity Holden, daughter of Hadron's Shelbourne manager Terry Holden, has transferred from a private school. She and Hesse clash over climate change in class, and Felicity warns him his campaign will make enemies.

The morning of the forum, Jake's parents plead with Hesse not to speak, fearing for Ibrahim's livelihood. Hesse vomits from nerves, but Bear steadies him by asking how he would feel in a week if he backed out. Before the event, a large orange envelope appears on Hesse's doorstep. Inside are Hadron spreadsheets showing sulphur dioxide readings far exceeding World Health Organization safe-exposure levels, roughly double what the company has reported to regulators. A password on the envelope grants access to Hadron's internal website. Oliver cautions the data could be a setup, so the group withholds the figures.

The forum draws a packed hall. Hesse freezes at the microphone until he spots Fenna mouthing, "You've got this." He gains strength, citing sea-level-rise projections and threats to local homes. A man shouts him down, calling climate change a hoax, but supporters stand, including Mus, Theo, and Steve Daly, an experienced local surfer. Tina starts a chant that fills the hall. The Hadron workers walk out; Jago stays and makes a gun gesture at Hesse. Rachel Cheng, a student activist, edits the footage and creates #ImWithHesse. Fenna forwards it to European contacts connected to youth climate organizations.

That evening, a brick is thrown through Hesse's window, injuring two volunteers. Later, as Hesse walks Fenna home, a vehicle with a mounted spotlight follows them. A man Hesse identifies by voice as Stanton threatens him and fires a rifle into the air. Fenna has a panic attack.

The video goes viral overnight. When Greta Thunberg, the prominent young Swedish climate activist, retweets it, media crews descend on Shelbourne. That evening, Hesse meets Felicity secretly at the boatshed. She reveals she sent the envelope and hands him a screenshot of an internal email proving that smokestack filters never worked properly and that Hadron's parent company deemed replacements too expensive. When Hesse asks why she would expose her own father, she whispers that she cannot talk about it and leaves.

Fenna comes to Hesse's house that night while Imogen is staying at Bear's. They share a drink by the fire, but Fenna slips out and does not return to the Turners'. When the Turners raise the alarm, Hesse reveals the spotlight-and-rifle incident for the first time. Driving out with Imogen and Bear, Hesse spots Jago's ute at Corrals; it reverses toward them, a passenger inside thrashing against the driver. The ute crashes into a power pole. Hesse finds Fenna bloodied and unconscious and cradles her until paramedics arrive. Jago, who was not wearing a seatbelt, is dead.

Fenna is hospitalized with fractured ribs, a punctured lung, and a concussion. She privately tells Hesse she grabbed the steering wheel to escape, causing the crash. Hesse reassures her it was self-defense. Her parents, Willem and Eva, fly from the Netherlands and announce they will take her home once she recovers.

The leaked documents are released to the media. Hadron suspends operations, and Terry Holden is suspended pending an Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) inquiry. Jake avoids Hesse, blaming him for Ibrahim's job loss. Jago's funeral draws most of Shelbourne; his parents thank Hesse for his help at the crash scene. Hesse and Rachel organize a climate strike where #ImWithHesse trends again. Felicity resurfaces weeks later and tells Hesse, "We helped each other."

On Fenna's last Friday before flying home, Hesse takes her to Corrals. They sit in the dunes watching the ocean. He promises to visit after finishing year twelve. She says she intends to become more active in climate advocacy; Hesse agrees he must do more too. They wade into the cold water and hold each other.

Weeks later, the biggest winter swell arrives. Hesse rides to the yacht club at dawn with the gun board, a large surfboard designed for big waves, that Theo shaped for him. Steve Daly offers to paddle out together. At the reef, Hesse watches Steve ride a massive wave, then takes his turn. He turns his back to an approaching wall of water, strokes hard, and feels it lift him. He leaps to his feet, freefalls, holds his nerve through a sweeping turn at the base of the wave, and flies across the open face. When the wave releases him, a scream erupts from his lungs. Looking back toward town, he thinks of Fenna a world away, perhaps thinking of a boy who cannot dance. Steve calls him to paddle back out, and Hesse strokes strongly toward the horizon.