After being brutally assaulted in a Melbourne stakeout that went horribly awry, homicide detective Joe Cashin is reassigned, for a period of recuperation, to the sleepy, relatively crime-free oceanside town of Port Monro, where he spends his time mostly brooding on the past, drinking to deal with the residue of the physical and emotional pain from the attack, and going for long walks with his two large black poodles.