The Shepherd family runs a massive and remote station in Fiordland, but it is clear from the outset that this is not the stuff of Country Calendar. The flocks referred to are not your hardy four-footed beasties and the contract the family has to manage them is with a government authority. Even as characters make their initial rain-drenched entrances, the questions about what happens in this wild and isolated environment begin to tease. A sci-fi trail emerges in tantalising snippets of information, with very little let up. It feels at times as if there are too many puzzles to hang on to until the final exposition.
What really drives the play are the family relationships as the five Shepherds and one boyfriend work through a series of startling events which gather momentum and impact as the play develops. The contrast between thoroughly naturalistic dialogue and the murky topics it reveals is a hallmark of the play.