This is a grand fable about the power of television to keep cheap gods and encourage madness. Jacko Emptor, born in remote Australia, five hundred miles from the nearest locked door, has now become a star on New York television. He uses his air of innocence to invade and broadcast live from America's living rooms.

Back home, his family pursue their own stories. Jacko's brother, the flamboyant darling of the Australian opera, develops a flair for risk and illegality. The Emptor matriarch, Cloe, hunt down Australia's famous Nobel Prize winning novelist. But it is the search for the victim of a sadistic crime which will both make and endanger Jacko's career. The horror of America is revealed by out great Australian hero.