On a sprawling eucalyptus plantation in outback Australia, a strange contest is taking place. Suitors of all shapes and sizes are arriving to put in a bid for the hand of a ravishingly beautiful young woman, Ellen, who has been put on the marriage market by her gruff widower father Holland. Their task: to correctly name the species of each of the hundreds of gum trees on the property. Nineteen-year-old Ellen remains stonefaced throughout the ordeal, until one afternoon when she chances on a strange, handsome young man resting under the Coolibah tree. In the days that follow, he spins dozens of tales set in faraway countries and distant times. As the contest nears its close, Ellen and the stranger's meetings become more erotic and the stories more urgent.

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