Newly arrived in the remote Australian desert town of Nathgari, Catherine (Kidman) and Matt Parker (Fiennes) are trying to adjust, when their two teenage children, Lily and Tom disappear in the desert, just as a massive dust storm is about to hit. Rumours start swirling about what could have happened to children and, with temperatures rising and the chances of survival plummeting with each passing day, Catherine and Matthew find themselves pushed to the brink.