This ghost memoir tells the life of Catharine Maber, from her harsh beginnings as a child in Ireland, to her eventual marriage and transportation to a penal colony in Australia. A skilled embroiderer, which often helped her to survive, Catharine tells her story through the making of a patchwork quilt.

Catharine's story is told from family research and written from Catharine's point of view, outlining how she survived in a harsh environment, with a husband who constantly absconded with her hard earned savings, and her desperation to survive led to her arrest and conviction and eventual transportation to Australia where she started life anew.