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The first scene opens with two riders alighting from a boat and surveying the wonderful horses just embarked. Two dubious characters off shore get set to blow the fuse of dynamite and blow up the boat and thus preventing the horses from getting through the pass for complete delivery. The drover Jack Donohue assures the buyer Mr Jim Richards and the owner the handsome young Mr Benjamin Creed that he will get the horses through the crossing, but after surveying the oncoming tide Ben is very doubtful when Jack tells him "Trust me mate". A wonderful scene follows with the herd of horses galloping through the surf and crescending waves but all horses are guided through safely. Ben looks at Jack with the most beautiful smile! and says " Jack I trust you".
Meanwhile on the ranch a beautiful black stallion "Barbican" is romping in the field with Alice the daughter of Jim Richards, when she is called in by her mother to help to pack her trunk in readiness for her trip to Melbourne to finishing school with her Aunt Maude – sister of her father. Alice upon hearing the approaching herd dashes out to meet them and is attracted to the drover who flirts with her and who is told laughingly by Ben "not the Boss’s daughter Jack".
That evening a reception is held for the local gentry and Alice invites Jack against her parents wishes, making sure there is a place for him by telling her brother that dinner will be late and switches the name cards on the table. Alice asks Jack to tell them all how he got the horses over the crossing and his conversation sparks up interest in the "voice of the ordinary man" amongst the governing bodies. The ears of one Bill Thompson pricks up and he approaches Jack to join him in his "Land League" for Farmers. Ben quotes the rhyme from a poem which says to "fly a rebel flag & sing a rebel tune" to which Alice corrects him with the word "song" and they exchange a special glance across the table.
Mr Richards is called out of the dinner to attend to a neighbour, Mr Allenby who has called round to be paid back a debt owing to him and says he will take Barbican in payment throwing a stick of dynamite on the table proving he is the one behind the blowing up of the boat earlier. Richards says he will never sell to him and after Allenby leaves he visits the stables to be with the horse where Alice follows to be of comfort to her father and asks to share his problems. He tells her not to worry and returns to the guests and a game of pool where Ben has noticed something amiss.
The next day at the auction Ben purchases Barbican at the auctions to save it from Allenby but this is not appreciated by Alice who does not know the full story and when the evening festivities are in full swing and Ben asks her to dance she insults him by accusing him of coming there to "steal" Barbican and promptly dances away with Jack. Dejected Ben approaches Richards and tells him he is leaving immediately which is safer for the stallion and slips away in the night, noticed by Alice and Jack who are enjoying a moment of romance under the stars. They arrange to meet in Melbourne away from watchful eyes!
On arriving at her Aunt Maude’s she is welcomed by an assortment of guests who are staying there, some models, singers and artists and so she starts her "finishing off" training and is taught posture and curtseying etc. On a visit to the stables to see Barbican she is seen by Ben who is about to play a game of polo and is attired in his white polo garments looking so handsome and friendly. Once again he is shot down in flames by her tongue and told that they might be the best stables in the country but the horse does not know that! With that she storms off and is stopped by her Aunt Maude standing close by and is made to introduce Ben. Her Aunt invites him to dinner one night and tells him to wear pink for a change! He looks bemused but interested!
Ben is seen at the Offices and is in a discussion with an Army Officer regarding remounts for Lord Kitchener for his troops in Africa, and informs him he will need many thousands of such horses for remounts. Later on in his own office Ben tells his secretary to find these such horses and to enquire about those at Minamurra also.
Alice is visited by Jack delivering a letter from her father informing her that he is not in good health and it is whilst she is reading the bad news, Ben drives up and sees her and Jack embracing when he leaves and decides to return to the office, which is a pity because he is dressed with a pale mauve cravat and carrying pink roses! Looking so handsome.
The following day Alice and Jack spend the day together picnicking and later Jack and Bill approach the bank for a loan where the board members are untruthfully told that they have a contract with the army for horses. When Jack asks Bill why he told this lie to the bank he replied that they would not have got a loan without such connection. Jack and Bill then have a meeting for the enrolment of members for their Land League and many of the farmers pay hard earned money for the entry into the League where Jack promises them a great future. Alice enters the end of the meeting and is witness to all the cheering to Jack’s speech and they celebrate by going back to his house for a drink. Whilst they are there she discovers he is unable to read and offers to teach him and they appear to be very close to one another in their feelings. Bill enters the house drunkenly with a lady friend and sees Alice and is quite surprised at her being there. Alice returns very late to her Aunt Maud’s and is surprised to see her still waiting up for her and they have a few heated words about this and Alice storms off to bed.
Meanwhile Ben is busy in his office dictating a reply to the bank about the reference required by himself on behalf of Thompson & Donohue, when his assistant informs him the Minamurra is in financial difficulties and Ben orders him obtain the list of creditors. The letter of rejection from the bank reaches Bill and Jack, who is inflamed at this, and gallops straight away to confront Ben who is at the stables with Aunt Maud and Alice at Barbican’s stall. He is about to start a game of polo and Jack crashes into him and they have a fight, brawling in the stables. When Ben gets the better of Jack and asks what has got into him, he shows him the letter which Ben tells him to read out but he admits he cannot read. "If you could have done, you would know I said nothing bad about you" said Ben and commenced to read out the dubious financial dealings which Bill had had in the past with other "projects".
Ben is in his office when his assistant argues with him about taking over the debts for Minamurra but Ben is adamant he wants the deeds.
Alice returns home to her father who by now is desperately ill and she discovers to what extent they are in debt and pays a visit to her neighbour the evil Allenby who is actually shooting at live doves and setting them off from cages he has them in ready for flight. He means to get the Minamurra and is not going to stop at fair means.
Later at her fathers funeral which Ben attends, she is comforted by him, telling her that most people look on him as a cold person but he has strong feelings for her and wants to take care of her, but she wants to sort out the problems with Minamurra first. On Ben’s return to the office he is handed the deeds to Minamurra and is very pleased although it has to stand as a guarantee for the all the stock about to leave on the "Solway Lass" within the month.
Alice by now has had to let the staff of her home leave, to cut down on expenses, and decides to go and look for Jack. But in the meantime Bill has been to the bank to clear out the funds, and is shown the deeds to Minamurra by the secretary at the bank, giving him information on Ben which should not have been made public. Alice arrives at another meeting which is completely different this time from the joyous one before, this time Jack is pelted with glasses and articles, because the men have just found out that Bill has cleared out all their money from the bank, a very dejected Jack assures them they will all get their money back. Sadly Alice leaves. Bill makes a visit to Allenby with the news how to get back at Ben and the plot is made, later that day the Solway Lass is blown out of the water with all of Ben’s trading and thus the loss of the deeds to Minamurra. Ben is devastated and tells his assistant he has two more things to do and sets off to Minamurra directly.
He arrives late that night amidst a bad storm and is going up the stairs when Alice stops him thinking it is someone breaking into the house. He tells her the bad news and that he has lost everything and also that he has lost her Minamurra, she cannot understand this and said that Allenby had it, he tells her "he does now" and she gives him a vicious slap across the face asking "why" and he brokenly tells her "for you Alice – I’m sorry – I’m sorry!" She embraces him and is next seen on the veranda the next morning in her dressing gown looking wondrously down at Barbican and comes up with the idea of selling horses to Kitchener. When she confronts Ben with her idea – he is still sleepy – but sits up and they hatch a plot for this to become reality.
They are both invited to an evening Ball with Kitchener and she tells him her plans for her famous bloodline of horses, after much persuasion Kitchener tells her to be at the dock when the ship sets sail – her lessons in curtseying come in very useful!
When they approach the farm hands about taking the horses they all offer to go and help and once again Jack is in favour as the drover. Ben tells them to leave Allenby to him, as Allenby officially owns the horses now he has the deeds to Minamurra and has set off himself to foil the delivery.
When they set camp that night after a long drive on route, Jack and Ben renew their friendship once again and Alice and Ben exchange tender glances across the camp fire. Later Ben slips a note under the pillow of Alice where she finds it next morning – it bears just a question mark? Next day Ben finds the rogue employees of Allenby about to lay dynamite on the sand hills along the way, so he sets if off earlier than they planned thwarting their intent to blow up the horses and the riders, killing them in the attempt with their own dynamite. When they arrive at the loading area at the docks in time for the ship embarking, Allenby’s men close the gate and lock it to stop them entering with the horses, but once again Ben comes to the rescue by vaulting over the gate and unlocking it at the same time, he then chases after Allenby knocking him to the ground and retrieving the deeds from the villains pocket. The horses get through watched by Kitchener over the rails of the ship – "Sir we had a bargain?" Alice shouts – and the deal is accepted and the horses are loaded on board. Alice turns to Ben who hands her the deeds of Minamurra whilst Jack retrieves the money belonging to the Land League from the breast pocket of Bill Thompson who was with Allenby throughout the plot to stop the horses.
Witnessed by Ben, Alice goes to Jack and they hug each other, Ben turns away to get on board when she spots him leaving and shouts "Ben?" – and again "Ben?" and when he turns she asks him in those immortal words (well for me anyway *) "what’s your question?" to which he replies "What’s your answer?" and she looks so lovingly at him and tells him Yes! – Yes! he just scoops her up in his arms and kisses her. His partner looks on from the ship and realises he has to start a new life in Africa on his own!
Back at Minamurra they set Barbican
free to roam in the field and say a fond farewell to Jack who promises
to "write" to them – they stop and embrace in the forecourt of that wonderful
house and we fade away from them – Lets hope they are happy everafter!!
