Broadcaster and author Karyn Hay makes a "life-enhancing" journey to 'Timor-Leste', not long after the withdrawal of United Nations peacekeepers. Hay reads up on the region's war-riddled past, encounters mosquitos and leaky boats, eats buffalo and snow peas, and learns about the widows and guerilla fighters who resisted Indonesian occupation. She is transported beyond the troubles to wonder at ancient cave paintings, bathe in turquoise waters, and reflect on charming children — and her hope that eco-tourism will offer a better life for a nation she senses is still "in shock".