Mary Bryant, a Cornish girl who was convicted of petty theft, is being transported to the Australian Penal Colony on the First Fleet with other prisoners bound for Botany Bay.

In 1830s England, a young man from a good but troubled family is unjustly convicted of stealing a watch. He's transported to Van Diemen's Land where he suffers under the enmity of Lt. Frere while falling in love with Sylvia, the Warden's daughter. Meanwhile, back in England, an imposter lays claim to the young man's inheritance.