When your world falls apart, the only person you can depend on is your sister.

The three Chirnwell sisters are descended from the privileged squattocracy in Victoria's Western District - but could a long-held secret threaten their family?

Harriett Chirnwell has a perfect life - a husband who loves her, a successful career and a daughter who is destined to become a doctor just like her.

Xara has always lived in Harriet's shadow; her chaotic life with her family on their sheep farm falls far short of her older sister's standards of perfection and prestige.

Georgie, the youngest sister and a passionate Teacher, is the only one of the three to have left Billawarre. But is her life in Melbourne happy?

All three sisters have a different and sometimes strained bond with their mother. Despite this, they come together to organise a party for her milestone birthday - the first since their father's death. But when Edwina arrives at her party on the arm of another man, the tumult is like a dam finally breaking. Suddenly the lives of the Chirnwell sisters are flooded by scandal. Criminal accusations, a daughter in crisis and a secret more than 50 years in the making start to crack the perfect facade of the prominent pastoral family.

A thought-provoking novel about family expectations, secrets and lies.