The story of Australian outback settlement is the story of men against a harsh land, or so popular belief would have it. But as often as not, these men were accompanied by their women and it was together they tamed the outback, side by side. These ordinary women's ability to continue the vision and stick it out commands respect. The film also features the grand dame of the outback, Dame Mary Durack, who talks about the times she spent with Aboriginal women and their kindness towards her. But the Aboriginal women remember the white settlers differently. Without them and their men being coerced into subservience, settling the outback would have been virtually impossible.