Ellie has her 21st birthday party and invites her friends and a fellow that she hopes to get together with. When she looks for him she sees that he has gone off with another woman. Although she is intoxicated she goes to her car very angry and drives wildly out of town. The near-fatal accident leaves her deep in debt. The story relates her struggles with love of the man who saved her life and the love of the man she thought she wanted. Her adventures take her from the city to the outback town of Roxby Downs and back to the city and her eventual marriage.