Salima, an African refugee who has arrived in a rural Australian town, has been left by her husband and raises two sons while working at a meat-processing plant. Struggling even with literacy in her mother tongue, she begins studying English at a vocational school and meets Harinezumi, a Japanese woman who has moved to Australia. This is a story of women trying to reclaim language and dignity in a foreign land.

After beginning to study English in a foreign land, Salima meets Harinezumi, a Japanese woman.