In dreary post-war Manchester, Annie Roberts is at her wits end when husband Terry spends all his wages down the pub. Desperate for a better life for her children, Annie responds to an emigration advert that promises Brits a prosperous new life in Australia for a tenner. Expecting whitewashed houses and sun-soaked adventures, the Roberts family arrive in Sydney to find life down under isn't quite what they've been sold.

Annie is furious when Terry stays out all night. To give him a taste of his own medicine, Annie leaves Terry home alone with the kids and bonds with Kate on a cross-country road trip. With their mum miles away, and their dad preoccupied by his demons, Peter and Pattie run wild.