The first in depth film study of Australia's most amazing animal and its close cousin the echidna. Discovered by European science a little over 200 years ago, the platypus was first thought to be a hoax - made from skins of different animals sewn together. Today we are on the verge of new discoveries about the life of this little known creature. We'll journey with the people who are pushing the frontiers of knowledge - getting insights into the way these animals live.On the slopes of the Great dividing Range, Tom Grant and Peter Temple-Smith are embarking on a first-ever study of the life of a mother and baby platypus inside a nesting burrow. They'll use state-of-the-art technology. At Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary we'll follow Les Fisk on his life long mission to breed platypus in captivity. And on Kangaroo Island, Peggy Rismiller's decade long study of the echidna, a close relative of the platypus, will run as a parallel story.