It is the summer of 1952 in New Zealand. Ruth is nearly thirteen, and she is running away from home; away from her stepfather who keeps trying to touch her, and from her mother, who doesn't seem to notice what is going on. She has no plan in her head the morning she leaves, except that she is heading for the lake where they used to spend their holidays before Dad died, the lake where she was happy. It's a long journey into the bush, and more lonely...