The arrival of European missionaries in the early 19th century forces an Aboriginal tribe into a desperate struggle to preserve their ancestral spiritual identity against the encroaching threat of colonial erasure. Jangamuttuk, the custodian of the Ghost Dreaming, acts as the primary protagonist, utilizing shamanistic rituals to combat the influence of Fada and Mada, the missionaries who bring both physical disease and a competing metaphysical framework. The narrative explores the collision between two distinct worldviews, utilizing a blend of historical realism and indigenous cosmology to depict the tribe's fight for survival. The story unfolds through a perspective that bridges the physical reality of the frontier and the metaphysical realm of the Dreaming.

This work is recognized for its significant contribution to postcolonial literature and its unique blending of traditional indigenous storytelling with the conventions of the novel. Critics often highlight the author's ability to subvert colonial narratives by centering the perspective of the shaman, Jangamuttuk, rather than the European interlopers. The text is frequently analyzed for its complex treatment of the 'dreaming' as a dynamic, living force that resists static historical categorization. Readers and scholars alike note the challenging, non-linear nature of the prose, which mirrors the fluidity of the spiritual world it describes. The novel remains a foundational text for understanding the intersection of indigenous identity and the trauma of the Australian colonial experience.