Michael, convicted of a minor crime, is sent to Van Diemen's Land to serve his sentence; John (the soldier) is involved in a minor scandal that means he must resign his commission. He decides to pursue a new military career in the Colonies.

Paths cross, families join and hardships are overcome. This is a story of courage, seized opportunities and new beginnings.

This novel is an insight into the life and times of an Irish convict and English soldier during the 1850s. The reader journeys with them from Ireland's County Clare and Cumberland in England, to the Australian Colonies of Van Diemen's Land with its penal system and finally to the Victorian bushlands.

Generally historically and geographically accurate, John Lynch has lived up to his previous local history publications, by weaving true tales within these pages.