Joanne Mitchell is an orphan who is sent to live with her aunt. The aunt makes Joanne work constantly on the farm and Joanne is miserable. She decides to run away and disguises herself as a boy. The book tells about her wandering in the Australian outback and meeting interesting characters like a drover and an aborigine. Eventually she is able to settle down with a family on a sheep station, but is frightened they won't want her when they learn she is a girl. In the end they do want her and she finally has a family. ( )