AustLit

'We first meet Molly Darrow in 1789 in Lancashire, England, where she is living unhappily with her grandmother. Head strong and tomboyish, she evades a threatened assault by dressing as a boy and fleeing on a stolen horse. Her new-found freedom is short lived, however, when she is arrested for theft while trying to sell the horse. Originally given the death penalty, her sentence is reduced to transportation and her true identity is unveiled when she boards the ship bound for Australia.

'On the voyage Molly reunites with the deeply traumatised Aliza, with whom she had bonded while awaiting sentence in prison and strikes up an unlikely friendship with the young first mate, Angus Thistle, a trader when on land, who is impressed by the teenager's strength, sharp intelligence, and commercial sense. When Molly and Angus reconnect after their arrival in Sydney, their friendship deepens and they marry, despite Molly's doubts that a freeman would ever consider a convict as a wife.' (Publication summary)