Professor Martin Woods leads a study of parents with adult autistic children claiming to offer hope. But, in a moment of despair, he tells Alice Brody her son is 'dead to the world'. When Alice and her son, Callum, are found dead in an apparent murder/suicide, all fingers point to Martin's involvement. He comes under fire as the government's war on welfare dependency, led by the newly-ascendant National Prosperity Party, becomes a ferocious attack on the weak and vulnerable. As Australia lurches towards fascism, Martin fights to clear his name, expose the killer - and save the nation's soul.