Nicholas Kenby arriving in Sydney to claim his inheritance. He is a twenty year old and a naive young man. His mother died which on her deathbed revealed a dark family secret blaming his father and her sister for sending and abandoning them in the outback of New South Wales. Nick's girlfriend, Amy Kingsley, refused to join him on the trip to Sydney with his Aunt's offer to stay with her. Will he stay at his deceased father's house? His Aunt, Mary Jamieson, controls his father's estate and is determined to retain control over his father's business. But Nick wants his inheritance and take control of the business, but unbeknown to Nick there is a darker secret that will hang over him like an executioner's axe.
As Nick is welcomed into the fold, he tours the business but quarrels with manager Ken Featherby which places him in danger. Mary introduces Nick to his father's and now his business partner, Brian Goldsmith. He is the silent partner but on that first night they met, Glenda Delaney, Mary's maid, and an undercover policewoman is violently murdered. The police led by Chief Inspector O'Dea and his assistant Detective Sergeant Jeff Ainsworth investigate Glenda's murder, but although everyone is suspected, Nick is the prime suspect. He has the motive and opportunity. Nick, Mary and Brian leave the house and go to Brian's home and there Nick meets Rachel, Brian's daughter. Nick is infatuated with Rachel, and pushes Amy to the back of his mind, but Rachel rejects Nick's advances. But when Rachel's father, Brian, is murdered, Nick again is suspected. With two unsolved murders the newspapers begin investigating. A young journalist, James Smith, begins to probe into the murders and uncovers more than one secret involving the criminal world, police, and politicians. Smith breaks the story which help the police solve the murders. Mary seeing the investigation will bring the police to suspect and ruin her plans. She asks Ken Featherby to kill Nick, who engages his sister, Emma, an assassin, for the task. Unbeknown to Mary she too has a price on her head by a criminal gang wanting the import business.
This fast moving story telling of the murder, greed, and deceit of Sydney of the 1960s and a young man's struggle fighting against a world of violence, drugs, police corruption. Will he endure his own frantic fight for survival?
