Scandalised by a provocative series of paintings in the early 1930s by the controversial Australian artist Norman Lindsay, the Anglican Church sends a young clergyman, Anthony Campion, and his wife Estella, who have just arrived from England, to take up a new parish in the countryside west of Sydney. Stopping en route at Lindsay's house in the Blue Mountains, Campion tries to persuade him to withdraw an etching from a coming international exhibition. Three young models, Sheela, Prue and Giddy, are currently staying on the property, and under their sensual influence, Estella feels increasingly estranged from her husband as he tries vainly to prevail on Lindsay to withdraw the offending picture from the exhibition. Like Giddy, Estella is beguiled by a tall, striking-looking man who lives in the bush nearby. Her dreams intensify, and a crisis is reached which threatens her self respect and her marriage.