To conclude the year, a high school stages a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. The play is directed by Miss Latrobe, whose work is praised by the headmaster Roy. Among the performers are Tom and Meg, who form a polite friendship and show a mutual attraction to each other.
Backstage after the production, Tom's parents, Harry and Vic, give the show an enthusiastic reception, whereas Meg's parents, Gwen and Jim, react with indifference. The two families discuss their plans on going away for the holidays, although after his parents depart Tom is hurt when he overhears Gwen slandering his family's lack of wealth. Gwen also shows disdain towards Coral, Roy's aloof wife. Following the death of their son in the Vietnamese War, Coral suffers from severe bouts of depression and dementia which is revealed to be causing a great strain on her marriage to Roy.
Although staying in different accommodation, the three families eventually converge on the same location at the Gold Coast for their holiday. Jim, Gwen and Meg are staying at a caravan park, and on Christmas Day, Jim is upset that the box of Christmas presents for the family has been left at home. Although he tries to hastily change the subject, Meg deduces that Gwen left the box of presents at home on purpose and angrily confronts Gwen. Gwen retaliates, offended and hurt as she explains her logic, immediately departing to lie down. Privately, Jim shares a memory to Meg of when he saw Gwen recite Scarlett O'Hara's famous monologue from Gone with the Wind, and places emphasis on Gwen finding solace in the film and aligning her life with the quote.
Coral and Roy stay at a luxury holiday hotel, where Coral endeavours to interact with other guests, although she ends up alienating them. Away from dinner, she engages in a surreal conversation with housewife Leonie, who confesses her husband is cheating on her. She then encounters Rick, a young man who is on his honeymoon at the hotel. They begin to form a connection with Coral after he indulges her conversations about marriage and her son. Their connection turns to attraction on New Year's Eve, as they kiss at midnight. Roy discovers them and threatens Coral with electrotherapy to cure her perceived insanity.
Harry, Tom, and Vic set up camp next to their car and progress along the coast from beach to beach. While desperate to ensure a happy holiday for Tom, Harry and Vic cautiously emphasise their holiday is humble. Eventually, they travel to the beach where Jim, Gwen and Meg are staying. After Gwen has an outburst, she goes on a walk with Vic as Harry privately confesses to Jim that Tom has leukemia. The treatment has caused their family a great deal of pain and brought a new appreciation of life, although they are prepared to accept that this is their last holiday together. The encounter ends with plans to attend the campsite talent show later that evening.
Tom and Meg spend time together, with Tom disclosing that Coral has run away from the hotel and is now masquerading as an artist at the campsite. He awkwardly propositions Meg, revealing to her that he is aware he is dying and pleading with her to let him try having sex with her, before she gently lets him down and leaves. Later at the campsite talent show, Tom and Coral perform a symbolic piece about freedom resilience and letting go.
In the closing scene, at the start of the next school year, an excited Miss Latrobe introduces the students to Shakespeare's King Lear, before looking around the class to find someone to read the first lines*.
*In the original production, the first lines were delivered by Tom. Gow revised the ending to optionally have Tom noticeably absent, and implied to have died due to his illness.
