Book VIII of The Australians. New arrival in the Colony, Lady Cadogan and her twin brother Patrick cause speculation. They are Irish and do not appear to be either settlers or gold hunters. The Norfolk Island penal settlement is in the process of being closed down and the inmates transferred to Port Arthur prison in Tasmania. Red Broome is puzzled by the Governor's request that he give passage to the two young Cadogans on board his frigate, the H.M.S. Galah, to the Island. The discovery of a diary kept then hidden by one of the convicts clears up a part of the mystery but involves his brother John in a daring escape from Port Arthur by four convicts previously imprisoned on Norfolk Island.