August Gondiwindi is the novel’s protagonist. Returning to Massacre Plains from London for her grandfather Poppy’s funeral after a 10-year absence, the story follows her efforts to process the grief of her grandfather’s death and the generational trauma that continues to affect her and her family as Aboriginal Australians. Her sister’s disappearance when they were both children also weighs on her, and she must deal with the memories being home stirs up. August’s character represents the future of the Wiradjuri community and cultural continuity: She is closely connected to her grandfather thematically and is portrayed as his natural inheritor. As her connection to the land and her family deepens through the search for Poppy’s book, August takes up the mantle of looking after the land her grandfather loved so much.

The novel explores its major theme of grief through August, who struggles with this in various forms throughout the story. Her return to Massacre Plains forces her to confront not only the guilt she feels over having left but also the grief that spurred her to leave in the first place. She is continually shaken by memories of Jedda and struggles to accept Poppy’s death, refraining from mentioning it when he is brought up by those who don’t know he is dead.