Mel's life is falling apart. Ever since her best friend moved to Adelaide, she's been lonely and miserable at school. Things are just as bad at home. Her parents had gotten divorced and her father moved to Africa to work on one of his projects, leaving Mel and her mother to live alone. Eventually, they run into a financial crisis, resulting in Mel having to move in with her father, leaving her mother behind. But when she finds out that her father has been murdered, a whole new story begins.