Set in Goulburn, New South Wales in 1860, the plot was advertised as being loosely adapted from La Morte Civile by Paolo Giacometti. It concerns Gerald Eyton, who accidentally kills his wife's brother during a quarrell and is transported to Australia. His wife and infant daughter later emigrate to the colony, where she eventually meets the widower Dr James Nestfield. A loving relationship develops and he raises the child, Alice, as his own. Some 14 years after his imprisonment, Eyton escapes from his Western Australian prison and makes his way to New South Wales. It is here that he accidentally discovers his wife and child and their new life.