Anna Jacobs' first Australian historical novel takes place in the late 1850s, when a group of people from Lancashire emigrate to Western Australia, which is very different indeed from Sydney and the eastern side of the country.

Benedict Caine has been bribed to emigrate by the local landowner, Saul Ludlam, so that he can help the son, Josiah Ludlam, who is in disgrace, to settle in as a farmer. Saul is sending Josiah as far away as he can and hopes never to see him again. Josiah's wife is ill and knows she can never return to England.

What will these people make of their new lives? As it often does, migration causes other people to follow the group out to the Peel Region of Western Australia, bringing new complications in their lives. Some will die, some will succeed, and others will move on from Western Australia, either back to England or across to Victoria. For Liza and Benedict, the central characters, there will be cruel disappointments before they can win their way through to a happier life.