In 1787 the British government commenced a program of shipping their convicts to an unexplored wilderness on the other side of the globe. When two brothers are wrongly convicted of a crime, they find themselves shipped away as members of a mass of exiles consigned to building a new colony. Their very different personalities and outlooks will take them on two different paths as they and their families seek to cope with both societal oppression and physical survival. The convicts endure mistreatment and persecution at the hands of troops and colonists alike, despite the Governor’s efforts to build a harmonious society. As the colony fights to survive, these two brothers will embody two different strategies for protecting their families as the soul and character of a new nation is forged; a nation that one day will be known as Australia.