In Sunray, a backwater town on the Murray River in Australia, the only activities available are fishing and listening to the local radio station. D.J. Ken Sherry arrives from the rush and bustle of Brisbane to manage the station. He is in his mid-40s, disconnected, thrice divorced, and has a scarred face. But both of the sisters next door find him attractive: uncomfortable Dimity, age 20, who works in a Chinese restaurant with few customers, and cheery Vicki-Ann, a hairdresser with a hope chest who imagines a wonderful future with Sherry based only on his arrival. First Dimity and later Vicki-Ann spend the night with Ken, with the former believing that he is her boyfriend and the latter that he is her fiancé. Then, Dimity begins to detect a fishy odor.