Ted Kotcheff directs this Australian thriller starring Gary Bond, Donald Pleasence and Silvia Kay. Big city teacher John Grant (Bond) has been forced to travel to a remote school in the town of Tiboonda in the Australian outback after the terms of a financial bond are revealed. He plans first to travel to Sydney to see his girlfriend but has to take a detour through the mining town of Bundanyabba, known to locals as The Yabba.

Longing to earn enough money to escape his bond he tries to make nice with the locals, joining in their gambling and drinking games. However, as John is not accustomed to this lifestyle he soon realises he cannot keep up.