The book by the famous Danish traveler, explorer, publicist and writer Arne Falk-Rönne is dedicated to the beginning of the colonization of Australia at the end of the 18th century. Possessing the gift of high artistry and relying on vast documentary material, the author recreates a picture of England during the industrial revolution with its monstrous social contradictions. The heroes of the book are convicts brought to the newly created colony in Australia and managed to make a daring escape.

Plymouth, England, 1786. —Cruelty, everyday life and class differences in English society. — Terrible conditions on the ships of the English fleet. — Mary Broad will be arrested for theft. — A ring of gallows around London. — 223 violations of the law are punishable by death. - 300 lashes for stealing a sheep. —Mary sentenced to death, which is mercifully commuted to seven years of hard labor. — “White slaves” are sent to North America. — In connection with the War of Independence in North America, New Holland is chosen as the place of exile.

The situation on the prison ship Dunkirk. — “Indian” Betty and her past. - Longing for Paradise Rousseau. — Wine Bottle. - Mary meets William Bryant, James Cox and James Martin, nicknamed the Writer.

The first flotilla sails to New Holland (Australia). — The situation on board the ship. - Captain Watkin Tench. — About Governor Arthur Phillip. "A futile adventure." — On board the transport ship Charlotte. Fight on deck. — Mary gives birth to a daughter, who is christened Charlotte. — The Cape of Good Hope is left behind. - Dysentery and scurvy with passing through the "roaring forties". — After an eight-month voyage, the coast of New South Wales appeared.

Landing at Botany Bay. — James Cook's stay in New Holland 19 years earlier. — First meeting with the aborigines. — William Bryant saves Governor Phillip. — Refusal to use Botany Bay as a place for settlement. — Arrival of two French frigates. — Opening of the natural harbor of Port Jackson. — Selecting a place to settle and founding Sydney. Pastor Johnson marries William and Mary. — What happened when the women came ashore. — Escape of the Snake and Peter the Frog. — Aborigines are caught to bring them into civilization. — Joseph Paget and Arabaru. — A smallpox epidemic spreads among the Aborigines. — Governor Phillip is hit by an arrow shot by an Aborigine.

“Free from the chains" in Rybachaya Bay. — Oyster banks near the Hawkesbury River. — Wil and his friends are forced to take Joseph Paget with them. Lieutenant Bradley and Black Caesar. - Bennelong is captured. — The further fate of Bennelong. — Hunger in a penal colony. — William Bryan is arrested and accused of stealing fish from the colonists. — He is sentenced to 100 lashes.

Escape is being prepared. — James Cox in audience with Governor Phillip. William Bryant is temporarily released from prison. — The supposed fate of Peter the Frog and the Snake. — They are cutting food allowances again. — Mary gives birth to a boy, who is christened Emanuel. — The second flotilla arrives.

The escape begins. — Past the Heads Cliffs in the darkness of the night. — Three terrible days in the Pacific Ocean. — First landing on the shore. — “Botanists” find coal. Meeting with Australian Aborigines on the shore of a sacred stone. — Strange appearance and behavior of the aborigines. — What did the people go through when they went to get water from a spring in the jungle? — A lot of natives appear. — Night ritual dances of the “flat stone people.” — Escape from the Aborigines.

The escape is discovered in Port Jackson. — Two soldiers run away into the forest. Governor Phillip requests information about the Walrus. — The governor's boat "Alexandrina" is being equipped in pursuit of the fugitives. — Lieutenant Bradley finds the remains of a camp site on the shores of Port Stephens Bay.

The “nerds” meet the power of the Pacific Ocean. — About James Cook and his work on mapping the coast of Eastern Australia. — How the islands got their names. — The Wandering Albatross. — Nat Lilly jumps overboard. — Quarrel on the longboat. — Landing at Cape Hawk. — The current carries away the “Nadezhda.” — Sam's proposal to bring the longboat back. — The Past of Sam Bird. — The longboat has leaked and requires repairs. — The note is struck by an aborigine's arrow. — Escape at night.

Nat is being operated on board the Nadezhda. — Three weeks at sea far from the coast. — British sailors and officers. — Some information about the Walrus’ pirate past. — Food and drinking water are running out. — The shark follows the ship. — Tropical rain. — Raw fish is the only food. — Hard work of rowers under the scorching sun. — On the port side is the Great Barrier Reef. — Difficult search for a passage in the reef. — Landing on Turtle Island.

Stay on Turtle Island. — How reconnaissance is carried out. — John Butcher finds water. — Turtle eggs and coconut milk. - Seasickness. — Nat Lilly's past. — Growing optimism. - Lots of turtles. Sailing under the protection of the Great Barrier Reef. — Numerous islands and straits of the Labyrinth. — Old Allen talks about his past. — Hunting for wild boar. — The first crocodiles appear. — “Nadezhda” rounds Cape York.

About the Torres Strait and the Spice Islands. — Landing on one of the Torres Strait islands. — Sam once again saves the Nadezhda and its passengers. — Traces of human feet under the forest canopy. — Attack of the Torres Strait Aboriginals. — Landing on Prince of Wales Island. The Nadezhda is pursued in a canoe by armed bounty hunters. — The last cartridge is used. - Across the Arafura Sea. — Arrival in Timor.

Kupang on the island of Timor in the Dutch East Indies. — Cox and Vila are received by the governor Vanyon. — A fictional story about a shipwreck. Mary and the children are in the hospital. — Charlotte gets a playmate. The fugitives are exposed and sent to prison. —Captain Edward Edwards and the castaways of the Pandora. — Rebels from the Bounty. — Difficult trials in the hold of the Pandora. — Edwards puts the "nerds" in shackles.

Batavia in 1791, plague pit. —William Bryant dies on a prison ship. — James Cox is preparing to escape. — Emanuel dies in a hospital in Batavia. — Sam Bird and Walrus die of malaria on the way to Kapstad. — James Cox jumps overboard and swims to shore. —Mary meets Captain Tench again. — Charlotte is dying.

Newgate Prison in London. - “Protective money.” — Andrew Manor. — James Boswell decides to help the surviving “nerds.” - How were they? Boswell's diaries and papers were found. — Trial at the Old Bailey. — John Howard's studies of English prisons. — Mary is released from prison. “Boswell provides her with an annuity.” — The remarkable history of sarsaparilla leaves. — The four remaining “nerds” are being released. — John Butcher returns to Australia a free man.