Return to Darwin

Emma James returns to her birthplace when she inherits a small hotel in Darwin. There she finds love and betrayal. She meets Scotty McGregor, a young fisherman, and Russell Tempey, a rich spoilt son of a man who owns most of Darwin. Emma is enthralled by Russell, but knows Scotty loves her. Russell has an attraction she finds hard to dismiss and succumbs to his charm. Emma is about to give herself to Russell until a friend tells her about the womanizing Russell. She decides to end her relationship with him but when he is angered by her rebuke, he rapes her and results in pregnancy.
Scotty joins the army and is sad to leave Emma behind to fight in the war. He is sent to the Pacific to fight the Japanese as they move down towards Australia. When Scotty is called to meet his new platoon commander, he is shocked to see Russell, who enlisted to avoid the scandal of Emma’s pregnancy. Russell is a coward and is terrified of fighting the Japanese. In a meeting with the enemy, Scotty is forced to rescue Russell. Now trapped behind enemy lines, Scotty and Russell steal a canoe and sail it toward safety. When they are almost there, Russell tries to kill Scotty but he dives overboard. Russell thinks Scotty is dead and is picked up by an American submarine where he is lauded as a hero for trying to save Scotty, the reverse of what happened.
Emma and her family leave Darwin after the Japanese attacked the city, arriving in Hervey Bay where they begin to commercially fish. She later learns that Scotty is presumed dead and she’s heartbroken. Nothing is sacred as Emma discovers secrets about her past that are new to her. Now she faces new dangers, someone wants her dead along with her daughter.
Will Scotty and Emma survive and find happiness with a new family and friends? Will the perpetrators wishing them harm be caught and punished?