'New Year's Eve 1969. Feisty, red-haired Julia King places her drunken arm around the shoulders of shy Shane McCarthy and invites him to join her band the Moonbirds. Man has just set foot on the moon; huge crowds march through the capital cities of the world to protest against the Vietnam War. Both teenagers are from the backwaters of Portmagee, a coastal town in south-west Victoria. Their homeland is dotted with hallowed grounds, where, if you listen, you can hear the hymns of land and tide. Julia's clan come from the Dreamtime and shipwrecks; Shane's, Irish migrants fleeing the Famine. Music courses through the blood of both of these kids. A rock band offers the opportunity to realise the ultimate dream. Together they create a unique sound which they take to the rest of the world. Join their odyssey of love, ambition and creativity, where they conquer, but pay an unforeseen cost.' (Publication summary)
