Two young Englishmen, Harry Taylor, a minor felon, and Patrick Galbraith, a navy marine lieutenant serving on the final convict transport ship bound for Australia in 1867, become friends on the voyage.<br />Harry and Patrick both end up in Trial Bay Prison on the north coast of New South Wales.<br />In return for good behaviour, an early release allows them to explore the hinterland. Opportunity knocks when the pair have a violent run-in with bushrangers and land a windfall beyond their wildest dreams.<br />But their newfound wealth also haunts their adventurous lives, through a series of pivotal encounters with cattle thieves, murderers, colourful figures of the colony&#39;s racing and farming industries, and a young Aboriginal woman.<br />Harry and Patrick both find love in the arms of beautiful women, but their good fortune comes under threat when a ghost from their past emerges.