Two men's friendship has been weakened by their contrasting approaches to life. Bob (Jeremy Stephens) has left his wife to paint pictures of a lover (Shirley Gruar) who is much younger than him. Lawyer Graham (Bill Johnson, who later played Mr Wilberforce in Under the Mountain) is the voice of reason, trying to convince Bob to quit his bohemian lifestyle. But is Graham really acting in his mate's best interests?
After prospector Albert Hunt (Ron Burt) registers a gold claim near Ōkārito, he finds himself accompanied by hundreds of fellow miners — who refuse to let Hunt out of their sights, as he returns to the site via water-logged forests and beaches. The darkly poetic tale of what men can do after they smell gold was partly shot on location on the West Coast. The opening features Sam Neill and Close to Home veteran Tony Curran, among Hunt's fireside colleagues.
