At rare intervals, great floods fill the desert basin of Lake Eyre in Central Australia, and for a while, wildlife teems along the shore. But the miracle is short-lived. In the fierce summer heat, the lake shrinks, the water turns to brine and the fish die. Birds such as pelicans then face a vast flight across the desert to the southern coast, and many die along the way.

Pannikin and Pinta is the story of a pelican family that sets out on a heroic journey.