Lea, her architect husband Roy and 15 year-old daughter Cara travel from London to the Middle East, where Roy has been hired to deal with teething problems at Dream World, a new resort complex. The thought of living in guaranteed sunshine near a beach excites them, and the ex-pats who live on the employees' gated estate prove almost too welcoming.

However, the endless heat quickly becomes oppressive. The other wives are happy to follow behind their husbands, cooking and arranging tea parties, but Lea finds her liberty curtailed. Her attempts to find work are thwarted. Her husband is often absent, and she fears that Cara is growing distant.

But at least there are fellow outsiders, misfits who don't enjoy the conformity of the ex-pat community - until one night, when the most outspoken one, Milo, is killed in a bizarre hit-and-run accident.

Milo's death is only the first in a string of accidents. Lea is given a cryptic warning and starts to fear that someone is committing terrible acts of cruelty - but is there a real threat to her life or is she becoming paranoid?

Fighting for the future of her family and her own sanity, Lea starts to suspect an unthinkable truth. As the secrets come tumbling out, she comes to understand the terrible twin natures of conformity and rebellion...