Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilers.
In the first part, the young London-woman Jean Paget tells of her time in Malaya during the war. She was in a party of European women who were marched around all of Malay by the Japanese, since no camp would take them in. During this time she met a young Australian who helped them and consequently was executed by the Japanese authorities.
In the second part, Jean, who has inherited a substantial amount of money, returns to Malaya to attempt to help the natives. When she arrives, she learns that the Australian is still alive. In the meantime, he has travelled to Britain in search of her. They finally meet again in Australia, and decide to marry. Using her inheritance, Jean helps to build a small outback village into a place where people would like to live - a town like Alice Springs.