Anna Winter, a young woman unwittingly caught up inside a ring of sophisticated Nazi spies, chooses to flee Germany in 1933, taking her precious doll collection with her as she sets sail for Australia. Soon after her arrival she finds herself in a remote outback town, working as a nanny for the family of Tom O'Hara, owner of the Birdum Hotel. Doubling up as the local bartender and cook, Anna hides her past from the world, until a chance encounter with an eccentric stranger, Alter Mayseh, changes everything.
A Yiddish poet fleeing persecution, Alter has seen the writing on the wall for his people. Armed with a letter of introduction from Albert Einstein, he manages to flee Europe, arriving in Australia in 1938 in search of a safe place he can call home. The odd pair fall in love, finding a sense of belonging and hope in each other. However, suspicious that a dark past has followed Anna across both oceans and desert, Alter is determined to unravel the mysterious secrets she may hold. One day, he stumbles across a clue that threatens to destroy the delicate life Anna has built on top of her hidden past.