Description: In the aftermath of the rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada in the late 1830s, some of the rebels who fought for democracy in the Canadas were hanged and some had their death sentences commuted to "transportation for life". Those who were hanged have been remembered by history, but those Canadians and their American supporters who were transported to the cruel Australian convict colonies have been largely forgotten.

Based in part on journals written by the Canadian and American prisoners in Australia, Jack Cahill's book tells of the scurvy and death on the crowded rickety ships that carried them to the end of the earth, of their sufferings as brutalized slaves, their sad pinings for home and family, and their many attempts to escape, some successful. He also introduces a magnificent heroine, Maria Wait, who saved her own husband from death minutes before he went to the gallows, then risked her life and family attempting to rescue others from their convict chains.

Because so little was known about the Canadian and American convicts in Australia, Cahill approached the subject as an investigative journalist rather than a historian. But the renowned Canadian historian Desmond Morton reported after reading the manuscript: "This is a great story.... I'm sure the material you report is unknown outside the part of the history profession that specializes in the Rebellions.... The Wait material, in particular, is fascinating and serves the modern eagerness for unearthing strong, courageous women".

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