The play opens in the year 1969 and the main character Willie, is at church with his mother, Theresa. While there, Willie looks at one of the girls from the choir named Rosie, whom he likes. At home, Theresa has a conversation with her son and urges him to have a career as a priest, telling him that priests will always be accepted and respected by the society and also that being a priest will mean that Willie will be financially stable.
The next scene presents Willie and Rosie walking and talking and Willie eventually asks Rosie if she wants to go with him and see a movie. She agrees but they are then approached by a man named Lester who asks her if she wants to join their band and sing with them. Rosie enters the bar while Willie remains outside and watches her from there.
At home, Willie is told he will have to return to Perth to continue his studies and become a priest. That night, Willie snuck out of the house and goes to the pictures but when he gets there it starts to rain so he sees Rosie being ushered to safety by Lester.
Willie returns to school and he is made a prefect by Father Benedictus. Despite trying his best not to think about Rosie, he can’t stop himself so he confesses his weakness to Father Benedictus who urges him to perform penance.
Some weeks pass by and one night Willie and other boys sneak into the kitchen during the night for a midnight snack. The boys are caught by Father Benedictus who calls all the boys in the church the next day. There, he brings a small boy in front of the class and threatens with punishing the boy unless the person responsible confesses. Willie comes forward and Father Benedictus blames Willie’s Aboriginal origins for his actions. When Father Benedictus prepares himself to punish Willie by hitting him with a wooden paddle, Willie gets away and runs. After a few hours, Father Benedictus goes out looking for him.
The man lived in Willie’s town 15 years ago and until the present time he was roaming the land and trying to survive. After hearing who Willie is, he realizes the two are related and he introduces himself as Uncle Tadpole who promises Willie to take him back to Broome. The next day, when Tadpole wakes up from his drunken stupor, he tricks Willie into giving his money and they goes in a bar to drink.
Willie becomes angry and starts crying when he realizes Uncle Tadpole had no intention of taking him home. Seeing the young boy cry, Uncle Tadpole decides to return and forms a plan to take them to Broome without having to pay for anything.
Uncle Tadpole throws himself in front of a van coming down the street and the people in the van are then tricked into taking the man and the boy to their hometown. The people in the van are a German man named Slippery and a woman named Annie. Slippery seems unconvinced by the story told by Uncle Tadpole and Annie realizes after looking on a map that Broome is much more farther than they originally thought. Despite this, Annie convinces Slippery to continue their journey and take them the Broome, mainly because she wants to have a real experience and find new things from an ‘’aboriginal elder’’.
When Slippery stops at a gas station, Uncle Tadpole tries stealing from the gas station but he is caught. Slippery gets angry and they stop in the middle of the forest for a break. There, Uncle Tadpole discovers that Willie is still a virgin.
Not long after that, Willie and Uncle Tadpole are abandoned in the middle of the road. Then, Uncle Tadpole points a bone at the departing car and it breaks down. Uncle Tadpole and Slippery tries to fix the car but are unable.
A truck soon appears and upon hearing that the truck is going to his hometown, Willie jumps in with them. Uncle Tadpole eventually fixes the car and they start their journey to Broome as well. The truck in which Willie is stops in Port Hedland where he meets Roxanne who seduces Willie and takes him some distance away from the bar under a tree named the ‘’Condom Tree’’. There, the two drink and Roxanne undresses Willie. In that moment, a man claiming to be Roxanne’s boyfriend appears and tries to beat Willie.
Uncle Tadpole and appears as well and they save Willie. Together, they continue their journey to Broome and in the morning they discover that Roxanne also snuck into the car with them.
The van is stopped by a police car and taken to the station. There, Willie finds that Slippery is actually Father Benedictus’s son and that his name is Wolfgang Benedictus. All the people who were in the car are put into a cell for the night but Will is punched in the gut before he is thrown into an outside cage.
The next day, everyone is released and they arrive in Broome. Rosie is singing and Willie enters the bar for the first time and sees Rosie sing. Willie gets into an argument with Leslie and when he knocked down, he confesses to Rosie how he loves her.
A temperance march comes and Rosie and Willie go to the beach where they kiss. The only people who do not go with the temperance march are Leslie and Roxanne who stay at the bar and probably have sex.
At the beach, Annie confesses to have having a child when she was 16 and giving it up. Willie’s mother confesses that she too, had another child. Father Benedictus appears and Theresa identifies him as being the father of her child. Slippery greets his father and Benedictus introduces Slippery to his mother. Uncle Tadpole comes forth as well and tells the meeting he was once married to Theresa but abandoned her. Willie comes forth and tells his mother he does not want to be a priest. In that moment, Theresa tells Tadpole that Willie is his son and the two embrace.
The play ends with everyone sitting at the table and Annie claiming she wants to be an aborigine. Tadpole looks at her and deciding not to argue with her, tells her she can be an aborigine if that is what she wants.
