Eddie - best known as Mullet 'round these parts - returns to his home village of Coollawarra on the NSW coast, after a three year absence. He left so abruptly and disappeared without trace so completely, his girl Tully didn't even have a chance to invite him to her wedding - to Mullet's older brother Pete. The unease with which the town greets Mullet doesn't diminish when it becomes clear his fractious ways haven't changed. His motives for coming back are clear enough - it's home. But his return disturbs not only his family's calm but the small town's very fabric. His mum and his dad are there for him - in their rustic sort of way - but Tully is confused and Pete is unsure... Only Kay, the barmaid at the pub, has some sort of clean cut affection for Mullet - even though she doesn't much like a lot of what he does.