The Yumba, an Aboriginal settlement, is home to Herbie, his brothers, sisters, relations and friends on the outskirts of town. From his back door the view of his playground stretches beyond the banks of the Warrego River, as far as the eye can see. The fun-loving Herbie learns his culture from both Aboriginal and white worlds: from his tribal elders and from the local townies. For Herbie his Yumba is a village peopled with friends and family, who keep an eye on him and his mates. But there's always escape to the surrounding hopbush plain, a larrikin's paradise. Herbie's rollicking adventures range from school-age antics to his teenage years as a stockman and, briefly-on into the present and his wry observations in traveling the world as an author.