Australia is the only modern society to have begun as a dedicated penal settlement. It was an experiment that should have ended like others of its kind in a stew of murder, rebellion and starvation. In this compelling, vivid and moving recreation of the first four years of 'the Sydney experiment', Tom Keneally examines how a motley 'thief colony' exiled by England as incapable of civilised development, not only survived, but flourished into a sophisticated modern society. History at its surprising and gripping best.