Set in 1957, the film centres on an imaginative young girl growing up on the outskirts of Melbourne during the Red Scare, whose fantastical view of the world around her brings about grim results.

The following day, Celia meets her new next-door neighbours, Alice and Evan Tanner, and their children, Meryl, Karl, and Steve.

Celia's father, Ray, becomes angered when he finds that the Tanners are members of the Communist Party of Australia, causing tension between the families.

One night, Celia and the Tanner children sneak to the rock quarry, where they make effigies of Burke as well as Stephanie and Ray.

Burke later arrives at the Carmichael home to confiscate Murgatroyd, as the Victorian Government has deemed rabbits an invasive species and is banning them from being kept as pets.

In a panic, the girls disarray the house and throw some of Pat's jewelry in a stream, posing the scene to appear as a robbery-murder.

Later, Celia and Heather play at the quarry with Stephanie and her gang of friends, staging a mock execution for Burke's murder.

She was inspired to write the film by an article in the newspaper about a rabbit muster in the 1950s organised by the Victorian government under premier Henry Bolte.

[9] Jonathan Rosenbaum from Chicago Reader praised Smart's performance, and Turner's passion for the project, while stating that the film's storytelling "isn't as streamlined as one might wish".

[10] Janet Maslin of The New York Times offered similar praise towards Smart's performance, as well as Turner's slow building of tension.

[15] In Australia, Celia was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in 2018 as a double set with the 1988 Australian film The Tale of Ruby Rose.