In the seemingly tranquil Australian coastal town of Yabbarra, temporarily bustling with tourists and a popular TV series film crew in spring 2023, a chilling mystery unfolds when three international visitors—a German student, a Japanese blogger, and a former Estonian police officer on vacation—vanish without a trace within 48 hours. What initially appears to be a simple wandering quickly escalates into a full-scale investigation as it becomes clear they did not leave or return to their hotel. Unbeknownst to most, their disappearance coincides with two critical events: a make-up artist inadvertently filming a clandestine meeting behind the scenes of the TV shoot, and the accidental discovery of a decades-old chest containing 4.7 million Australian dollars in an abandoned cannery by a young local bartender. This hidden fortune, linked to a notorious money laundering network from the phantom Eastern European state of Barruska, triggers a chain reaction of greed, betrayal, and violence.
The bartender's attempt to keep the money alerts a ruthless Barruska cartel operating in Australia, leading his best friend to betray him. Meanwhile, the Estonian ex-policeman, Marko Kask, grappling with burnout, senses the local police are missing crucial details and begins his own unofficial investigation, drawing him into the heart of the danger. As Marko digs deeper, the situation turns deadly: the German student is tragically killed in a shootout, the Japanese blogger is found alive but traumatized, holding the key evidence in his drone footage, the bartender is arrested and sentenced for his ill-gotten gains, and the treacherous friend is found dead under suspicious circumstances. Marko becomes the central figure, collaborating with skeptical local authorities to track down the Barruska agents and arms dealers. The case ignites an international standoff as Australia refuses to extradite the criminals to a state it deems unjust, culminating in a spectacular, destructive shootout in a Sydney suburb. The events leave a lasting impact, even inspiring a controversial TV episode, while the true cost of unearthed secrets is underscored by a final, haunting statement from the police: the red dust of Australia may bury many secrets, but justice, fueled by determined hearts, never stays buried.
