Valerie has disappeared. Detective Zat (Anthony LaPaglia) suspects her husband John (Geoffrey Rush) of having an affair with one of her male patients, Patrick Phelan.

Sybylla Melvyn (Judy Davis) tells younger sister Gertie (Marion Shad) of her desire to escape a life of rural drudgery. Her frustrations increase when she’s sent to drag her father out of the pub.

While staying with her well-to-do grandmother, Sybylla (Judy Davis) has a crisis about her looks.