In the gritty underbelly of 1920s Sydney, a fresh-faced country girl is about to arrive in the big, dark city – and risk everything in the pursuit of her dreams.

Sydney is no place for the fainthearted – five shillings for a twist of snow, a woman for not much more, and a bullet if you look sideways at the wrong person.

Dolly Bowman is ready and willing to take on all the brash, bustling city has to offer. After all it is the 1920s, a time for a girl to become a woman and fulfil her dreams. Turning her back on her childhood, she takes up a position working as a housemaid while she searches for her future.

World War I flying ace Jack Dalton knows he's luckier than most. He's survived the war with barely a scratch, a couple of astute business decisions have paid off, and he's set for the high life.

But a glimpse of a girl that he had forgotten, from a place he's tried to escape suddenly sets all his plans awry. Try as he might he can't shake the past, and money isn't enough to pay the debts he's incurred.