"There's a shadow behind him, a huge dark cloud, loose like smoke. But it doesn't drift away; it tightens, rising up tall and thin. It draws back into an S shape. It's a snake! A death adder!" Dale's dream tells him that his brother Sean is in danger. But he cannot know that what happens to Sean will have a devastating effect on all the people at Long Hole community, both white and Aboriginal. After their trip to Barrumbi, everything will change.

Leaving Barrumbi is an inspirational tale of two boys’ friendship as they continue their journeys into adulthood. The nine-hour trip to his new school is just the beginning of the worst time in Dale Murphy’s life. He has to deal with assemblies and detentions, strange food, new enemies, and more white kids than he's ever seen in his life. He feels caught between two cultures and he struggles to make the school staff understand that he belongs with the Aboriginal kids. Then his best mate, Tomias Andjurika, a high achiever, good at everything, starts to be interested in girls! Dale’s left behind. He doesn’t know who he is any more. An insightful, humourous and moving tale of adolescence, friendship and finding out how to belong.