Olivia Wells is struggling with her university studies, her relationship with her father and her love life. Throwing herself into her thesis research, she stumbles across details of a young woman found murdered on the banks of the river in wartime Brisbane. Suddenly her studies - and her personal life - become much more interesting.

The River Girl murder leads Olivia into the world of 1940s Brisbane- a world of ration books and penny candy; of nylons and lunches at Lennon's; but also a city where tensions between Australian soldiers and the American GIs who were stationed there regularly erupted into jealousy and violence.

The deeper Olivia investigates, the more she learns about the dangers women faced back then, while also realising how little has changed. And then, of course, there's the situation with her own boyfriend to address.

Can Olivia solve the River Girl murder and get her own life back on track?