1836, Prussia. Hane Nussbaum is almost fifteen years old, and the constraints of a woman's life in Kay suffocate her until she meets Thea, with whom she finds acceptance. The Nussbaums are Old Lutherans, and their prayers are made in secret – they are a community under threat. To escape the state and the Union of the Church, the village residents are tightly crammed onto a ship bound for South Australia, where they can live without fear, free.

Amidst the hardships of the journey, the song of the whales enters Hane's heart, along with the wonder of love for Thea. Their bond is so strong that it is impossible to break.

1838, South Australia. A new beginning takes place in an old land. God, society, and nature itself decide that Hane and Thea cannot be together. The heroine swings between extremes, between rules, between the love of God and the fear of Man, even wavering between Before and After Death. But within the impossible lies devotion...