Josephine (nicknamed "Josie") Alibrandi (Pia Miranda) is an ambitious and outspoken 17-year-old Italian-Australian teenager who lives in Glebe, an inner-western suburb in Sydney, and is in her final year of high school. Josie is a scholarship student (also vice-captain) at the prestigious Catholic girls school St Martha’s (which is located in the eastern suburbs of Sydney), where she is completing her HSC. Most of the students are Anglo-Australian and from elite socio-economic backgrounds, and she experiences xenophobia and discrimination due to her Italian and working-class background (and also due to growing up in a single parent household). Josie attends St. Martha’s with her two best friends, Sera (Leanne Carlow) and Anna (Diane Viduka). She is friends with John Barton (Matthew Newton), who attends St Anthony’s College, the brother school of St Martha’s. She has romantic feelings for him, but has not explicitly disclosed them. He is the son of an influential politician, and feels pressure to follow in his father’s footsteps. Josie meets Jacob Coote (Kick Gurry), a rebellious and charismatic public school student, at an inter school debate. They dance together at Josie’s Year 12 formal, and even go on a date, but their personalities clash and they mutually decide to not pursue things further.
Josie’s mother, Christina Alibrandi (Greta Scacchi), gave birth to Josie out of wedlock when she was 17. Christina was disowned by her father, Francesco Alibrandi, and banished from the family home until his death. Josie has a rocky relationship with her grandmother/nonna, Katia Alibrandi (Elena Cotta), and they frequently argue. Christina never told Josie’s father, Michael Andretti (Anthony LaPaglia), that she had his baby. He moved to Adelaide to study law, and has since been working as a lawyer there. During Josie’s final year of high school, he visits Sydney temporarily for work and finds out about his child. Josie is initially uninterested in pursuing a father/daughter relationship with Michael, due to his absence for most of her life.
One day, Josie arrives at school and it is revealed that John Barton has taken his own life. Josie is devastated and struggles to cope with the loss. She seeks comfort in Jacob, and they begin a romantic relationship. Josie gets into a physical altercation with Carly (Leeanna Walsman) at school, and after Carly’s father threatens to sue, she asks Michael for his help. They bond as father and daughter and start spending time together. Michael decides to move back to Sydney for a more long-term basis.
Katia reveals a family secret; throughout their marriage, Francesco was abusive and neglectful towards her. She then had an affair with an Anglo-Australian man, Marcus Sandford, and he is the biological father of Christina. Francesco was aware that Christina was not his biological daughter because he is infertile, and this is one of the reasons why he resented her so much. Katia revealing this secret helps improve her relationship with Christina and Josie, and they subsequently grow closer as a family.
