In the early 1900s, opal seekers Emily and Seth succumb to the lure of a new opal field, Lightning Ridge, the only source of the worlds most beautiful gemblack opal. They find it is as elusive and dangerous to mine as it is alluring. Believing he has killed his father, Seth flees into the horror of trench warfare in France. Even if he survives the conflict, can he overcome the aftermath trauma? Will his beloved Emily be his salvation? And more menacing than the other hazards, two merciless killers stalk the pages, ensuring a bloody denouement.