In a storm off the Victorian coast in 1890, a young English girl named Philadelphia (Sigrid Thornton) or `Delie', is shipwrecked and orphaned. She is rescued heroically by the only other survivor of the wreck. Over the years Delie develops into a high-spirited and energetic young lady with an indelible magnetism towards the river. She spends most of her life around Echuca, on the Murray River, and invests some of her inheritance in a paddle wheeled riverboat. Her life is forever changed when she meets frontier paddleboat captain Brenton Edwards (John Waters), a cavalier river-man. She eventually leaves the town of Echuca on a ten-year adventure filled with turbulent riverboat men, exorbitant wagers and a perilous escape from raging fires and relentless lawmen. Filmed entirely on location at the Murray River and the Port of Echuca, Victoria.Based on the novel by Nancy Cato.