In this, the second novel in the Mavis series, Mavis is called to the Goldfields of the Western Australian outback after a cry of help from a desperate Pelican. As his body morphs alternately from bird to human he tells Mavis that the birds in the inland migratory breeding grounds are mysteriously disappearing. After having been trained by her grandmother to magnify sight like the eagle, fly as fast as the Peregrine Falcon, mimic any sound like the Superb Lyre Bird as well as many other bird skills, Mavis now is trying to master these powers of the birds she has inherited and flys bravely towards the dry, red, isolated gold mining lands to save the remaining birds.