The film centres on two would-be treasure hunters in search of an outlaw's fabled hoard in remote Australia and their subsequent encounter with a yowie.

Almost immediately after finding a sizable nugget, he is robbed at gunpoint by an unnamed man who subsequently flees into the bush.

In the present day, two exterminators-cum-treasure-hunters, Jack and Kent, paddle up the same river from the film's opening, intending to find Newman's gold.

They enter the bush, camp for the night, and, the next day, navigate via GPS to a system of lava tubes, where they quickly find Newman's gold.

Jack lies as to the location of the gold and proceeds to lead Kent on a trek through the bush, during which the three come across a makeshift sleeping area and a large footprint.

Upon returning to the river, Kent is confronted by a man in a ghillie suit, Detective McNab (played by Vernon Wells), who is investigating the series of disappearances in the area and suspects it to be the work of a serial killer.

While Rhiannon is asleep, Jack attempts to recover the gold and is confronted by Kent on one side of the river (wielding the deceased McNab's gun) and the yowie on the other.

The yowie, having impaled Jack through the leg but stopped short of killing him, flees with Rhiannon back to its lair while Kent is distracted by a snake.