To move on with her life and finally forget Father Ralph de Bricassart, who is now a Lord Bishop, pained Meggie summons up the courage to leave Drogheda to start anew in North Queensland, along with her determined sugar-cane cutter husband, Luke. However, the promise of a better future is a deceitful one--and as Luke is bent on becoming very successful with or without his wife--a night of passion results in heartbreak and a baby daughter. Now, on the velvety sands of an isolated tropical haven, a mortal and flawed Ralph yields under the insufferable burden of choice, as Meggie's graceful young body intertwines with Ralph's under the eyes of God. At last, against all odds, the ardent lovers taste the ambrosial juice of the forbidden fruit; nevertheless, is Father Ralph prepared to renounce his beliefs for the sake of Meggie, his other eternal love?
—Nick Riganas