Fans of Victoria Hislop, Lucinda Riley and Fiona Valpy will absolutely love this captivating and beautifully atmospheric historical saga rich in romance, adventure and unforgettable characters from international bestselling author Colleen McCullough.

Fast-moving and immensely readable... Back to the open spaces, merciless climate and sheer pioneering stance of the magical THE THORN BIRDS, this book is a page turner from start to finish -- Maeve Binchy

A rich, compelling epic -- Daily Mail

Graphically created... [McCullough is] at her best when at the heart of a relationship -- Daily Express

A good yarn... based on rigorous, historical research -- Belfast Telegraph

Colleen McCullough is a great storyteller -- Sunday Mail

Spellbinding -- ***** Reader review

Beautifully written -- ***** Reader review

Absolutely loved this book could not put it down -- ***** Reader review

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It was one of the greatest human experiments ever undertaken: to populate an unknown land with the criminal, the unloved and the unwanted of English society.

Amid conditions of brutality that paralleled those of slavery, ''The First Fleet'' was sent to a land no European but the legendary Captain Cook had ever seen.

These convicts - and their equally isolated guards - were left to live or die on the hostile Australian continent.

Richard Morgan - a convicted felon and educated, intelligent, resourceful man - finds the will to survive, experience the joys of love, and finally make an indelible mark upon the new frontier.

His story is both inspirational and heartwarming and will stay with you long after you finish the last page...