When George McPherson, an old and gentlemanly Adelaide business man, left a will with very specific instructions, he would neither have guessed nor intended the indirect changes that would happen, as the result of that will, to the lives of at least five others, five people whom he never knew. The changes begin when Richard McPherson and Max Clark fine themselves becoming funeral directors in the Victorian rural city of Horsham. Then, following a tragedy, the same couple become 'parents' to Max's poverty stricken nephew, Rory, who harbours a high academic goal for himself. While finishing his secondary education at Horsham High School, Rory boards with Richard and Max's motherly friend, Ivy Pasco, and that changes her life. Then, at school, Rory gains a buddy, an Aboriginal boy named Danny Adkin. Shared experiences, good and bad, bring the boys closer together as they aim for their vocational goals. Can Rory achieve his goal?