In 1913, Ada McAllister arrives in the dusty
outback town of Marrowbone with nothing but a
sketchpad and a dead father’s journal. The
journal speaks of a “saltwater line” — a route
through the bush that led to a hidden gold mine,
lost during the Boer War. Ada’s mother, a
schoolteacher, had dismissed it as myth, but Ada
sees it as her only chance to escape poverty and
the stifling grip of smalltown conformity.
She finds an old prospector, Jack Holloway, who
once worked with her grandfather. He agrees to
guide her through the bush, but only if she
paints his portrait — a deal that binds them in
both art and survival. As they travel, Ada
learns the saltwater line was not about gold,
but about people: a network of escaped convicts,
Indigenous guides, and disillusioned soldiers
who carved a path across the continent. Her
grandfather had been one of them.
By the time they reach the coordinates, Ada
discovers the mine is gone — replaced by a deep
ravine where a child’s skeleton lies, wrapped in
a Union Jack. The journal’s final entry reads:
“Some things are better left buried.”
Jack tries to leave, but Ada won’t let him. She
demands the truth. He reveals her grandfather
had betrayed the group, leading them into the
ravine to protect the others from a massacre. He
died trying to save Ada’s mother, who had been
marked for death.
Ada returns to Marrowbone with the journal and
the skeleton. The town’s elders, who have long
kept the secret, confront her. They offer her a
choice: burn the journal and forget, or face the
wrath of those who still blame her family for
the betrayal.
She burns the journal, but not before making a
copy. The saltwater line is closed now, but Ada
has found her own path — not through gold, but
through memory, and the fragile bonds that hold
families together.
The town whispers of her for years after. Some
say she painted the ghost of her grandfather on
the wall of the old courthouse. Others claim she
vanished into the bush herself, chasing the line
no one else dares follow.
