It's the early 1970s, a time of change, a time of turmoil, a time of surrealism, LSD and the Age of Aquarius, a time of fads, Moon landings and wars, and the young people of the world are seeking something new - and unusual! For Anne Travers, an encounter with a so-called 'dream egg' is just the beginning of a long nightmare. Her scientific curiosity aroused, Anne begins to probe the secret underground scene known as dream-ins where students and others meet to get involved with a new craze and, perhaps, something far more alien to human experience. And for Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who finds himself drawn into Anne's investigations, this probe will lead him and the Fifth Operational Corps to the wilderness of the Australian Outback, to a little opal mining town called Coober Pedy and a search for answers.