Catherine and Matthew Parker, newcomers to the remote Australian desert town of Nathgari, are flung into crisis when they discover that their two teenage kids, Tommy and Lily, have mysteriously disappeared just before a massive dust storm hits. With Nathgari eerily smothered in red dust and darkness, the townsfolk join the search led by local cop David Rae. It soon becomes apparent that something terrible might have happened to Tommy and Lily. Suspicions run riot, rumors spread, and public opinion turns savagely against the Parkers. With temperatures rising and the chances of survival plummeting with each passing day, Catherine and Matthew are pushed to the brink as they struggle to survive the mystery of their children's fate.