Billy Harper was born and raised on a small cattle property, but the future on the place seemed doomed. Over the years, the station suffered a series of crippling droughts, water holes receded to muddy puddles, grass became scarce, and the cattle died. This left the property in a financial crisis. Billy could see no future there, so he packed up his gear and moved out to face the uncertainty of what lay ahead of him. In his travels he experienced many dangerous encounters with crocs, dingoes, and wild natives. This is the story about a young man who roamed the countryside seeking work and facing the most impossible situations and setbacks on his journey for survival.

Ron Nielsen was born in the small sugarcane growing town of Home Hill, Queensland, in 1947. He cut sugarcane by hand for five years before cane harvesters came into operation, which ended the career of the cane cutter. Ron obtained work at the Inkerman Sugar Mill, driving a sugar train. Over the years, he witnessed the mighty Burdekin River break its banks, flooding his hometown and inflicting much damage to the railway bridge that linked north to south. Ron's interests are fishing, drawing, and painting-also aircrafts and car shows.