A mysterious young drifter named Eleanor (Fildes) arrives in the city of Melbourne with the clothes on her back little money and a difficult past she'd rather not discuss. She takes up residence in a decrepit boarding house sarcastically dubbed "The Hotel California" by her new flaTmate Roy (Cochrane), located on the volatile outskirts of the city where Eleanor comes across a series of fellow exiles fugitives and outcasts. Over the next year, Eleanor struggles to adapt and finds her feet in this strange new place spending most of her time working a series of dead-end jobs pursuing a futile affair with her married neighbor while remaining totally oblivious to the men and women who do care for her. By the end of the year small victories are won friendships are formed relationships rise and fall lives are lost and harsh lessons are learned and the world keeps turning.