The novel opens in rural Kiewarra, Australia, where the two-year-long drought is taking a toll on Kiewarra's residents, land, and livestock. Blowflies are circling three dead bodies: one in a clearing, and two in a farmhouse. A baby inside the house, with the only “human heart beat within a kilometer radius of the farm,” starts to cry (2).

Falk, a 36-year-old federal agent with the financial intelligence unit, has reluctantly driven from Melbourne to sweltering Kiewarra to attend a funeral. His childhood friend, Luke, is presumed to have killed himself, his wife Karen, and his six-year-old son, Billy, but spared 13-month-old Charlotte. Falk finds a spot in the overcrowded church, hoping the other mourners will not recognize him. Even though Falk had not seen Luke for five years, Luke's father, Gerry Hadler, had sent Falk a letter two days prior saying: “Luke lied. You lied. Be at the funeral” (7).

During the funeral slideshow, one photo is of Falk and Luke as teenagers, with two young girls. The crowd and Falk are “shaken” by the photo, because two months after that photo was taken, “the dark-eyed girl” standing next to Falk died (8). Falk thinks about “a lie forged and agreed on twenty years ago” (9) and sees two elderly women become upset when they recognize him.