Dr Michael O'Brien is a celebrated palaeoanthropologist, but his recently-published book has drawn ridicule from academics while being hailed by crazy conspiracy theorists. With his party-animal sister Alyssa, and her latest boyfriend Dante, he retreats to a rural outback where he obsessively pursues the unorthodox research that led his colleagues to shun him. Here, he makes a mind-blowing discovery that may rescue his career. Trapped in isolation, four flawed characters grapple with their awesome responsibilities and the delusional idea that we humans are the master species.

When Kal meets Molly it feels like love at first sight. Until he suspects it's not love that binds them, it's grief. Acclaimed artist Sukhminder Kaur hires Kal to write the catalogue copy for her new exhibition. She likes his cynicism and admires his meticulous and dispassionate style. She's photographing herself in tableaux recreating the Tarot's darkest cards. Death. The Hanged Man. The Devil. The Tower. As Kal is sucked into Molly's plight, he unravels and starts to believe someone or something may be scripting his life.