Mike Walker takes us on a journey from a tiny village in Cornwall, through the criminal stews of Georgian London, to the hold of a disease-ridden convict ship and on to the far end of the Earth. Then, in an isolated prison colony with only a few weeks of supplies between it and starvation we follow Mary Broad on a 3000 mile journey in a 20 foot boat from freedom to shipwreck and re-incarceration in a London prison cell where she faces the death sentence for the second time, or the possibility of starting the terrible experience all over again. Her salvation comes in the unlikely form of James Boswell, lawyer and gentleman who defends her case and wins her freedom.

Mary Broad’s story is brought to life in Mike Walker’s hands with the help of original diaries, state records and newspapers describing the conditions and events of the day, and the incredible hardships and losses suffered by our heroine.