In northern Australia at the beginning of World War II, an English aristocrat inherits a cattle station the size of Maryland. When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn stock-man to drive 2,000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country's most unforgiving land, only to still face the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbor only months earlier.

 îñíîâå ñþæåòà ïîëîæåíà èñòîðèÿ àíãëèéñêîé àðèñòîêðàòêè, ïîëó÷àþùåé â íàñëåäñòâî îãðîìíîå ðàí÷î íà ñåâåðå àâñòðàëèéñêîãî ìàòåðèêà. Ïåðåä íà÷àëîì Âòîðîé ìèðîâîé âîéíû îíà ïðèåçæàåò â èìåíèå äëÿ òîãî, ÷òîáû îáåðå÷ü åãî îò ïîïûòîê àíãëèéñêèõ ñêîòîâîäîâ çàïîëó÷èòü ðàí÷î ïîä íàçâàíèåì Faraway Downs â ñâîþ ñîáñòâåííîñòü, è ñòàëêèâàåòñÿ ñ íåîáõîäèìîñòüþ ïðè ïîìîùè ãåðîÿ Äæåêìåíà ïåðåãíàòü 2000 ãîëîâ ñêîòà ÷åðåç òûñÿ÷è ìèëü â ãîðîä Äàðâèí. Òàì äâîå ïîïàäàþò ïîä ìàññèðîâàííûå áîìáàðäèðîâêè ñî ñòîðîíû ÿïîíñêèõ âîåííî-âîçäóøíûõ ñèë.