The program is a case study of the issues and events leading up to a new era of water management for NSW and southern Australia at a time when most of Australia's major inland rivers are stressed by too much demand for water. The focus is the Macquarie River west of Dubbo, NSW which has become a major cotton irrigation area. The chief beneficiary of the changes is the Macquarie Marshes - a major Australian wetland in the Murray Darling system. The program includes stunning wetland footage and features the big 1997 bird breeding on the Gwydir River. Irrigators, graziers, water and wildlife managers, the NSW Minister for Land and Water Conservation and the Mayor of Dubbo lead the discussion. The final outcome points to a new direction for water allocation priorities in Australia, the driest continent.