Would you award a Victoria Cross to a deserter, put Melbourne in the wrong place or dump thousands of orphans on the other side of the world? This book explores intriguing questions arising out of some of the most extraordinary things that have ever happened in Victoria.

Covering two centuries of European settlement—from 1803 when a ship arrived with 300 convicts who couldn't wait to run away, incidents throughout Queen Victoria's long reign, to the present day about women unafraid of a fight, runners, and wartime child evacuees. 

John Wright has a gift for building a suspenseful tale and the 24 stories he tells in this book make fascinating reading.