Set against the backdrop of war and social upheaval, a family secret is buried, the damning consequences of which, are manifested in the generations that follow.

In 1932, during the dark days of the Great Depression, Charlie Davis, from the inner Sydney suburb of Newtown, is laid off from work. When he can no longer pay the rent, his family establishes a dwelling in a shanty town called Happy Valley, near Le Perouse on Sydney’s eastern fringe. To make ends meet, Charlie and his son, Tom, follow in the footsteps of the original ‘rabbitohs’ who had already earned a place in Sydney’s folklore, and they traipse the streets selling rabbits.   

Tom befriends a young Irish girl, Hazel, and to the horror of her Catholic family, she becomes pregnant. With her infant, she joins Tom and his family at Happy Valley, but struggles in the dour conditions and flees Happy Valley, deserting her baby, Bill, knowing that she is now carrying another child. 

Eight years later in 1940, both Tom and his father, Charlie, take their place in the theatre of war. When the war is over, Tom is reunited with his mother and young son, Bill. Tom begins his search for Hazel and finds her and his daughter, Nancy. Tom and Hazel reunite as friends, agreeing to hide their history from the two kids, not wanting their son to learn of his abandonment as a baby.  

What follows are years of torment for all involved, which was all sparked by the lies of Tom and Hazel. Spanning three generations and ending in 2021, this is an extraordinary story of hardship and betrayal, that gives light to hope and forgiveness.