| Introduction | ix |
| Preface | 1 |
| Prologue | 3 |
| Book 1 | The Sea - 1827 | |
| 1. | The Prison Ship | 15 |
| 2. | Sarah Purfoy | 23 |
| 3. | The Monotony Breaks | 32 |
| 4. | The Hospital | 36 |
| 5. | The Barracoon | 41 |
| 6. | The Fate of the Hydaspes | 48 |
| 7. | Typhus Fever | 58 |
| 8. | A Dangerous Crisis | 66 |
| 9. | Woman's Weapons | 74 |
| 10. | Eight Bells | 79 |
| 11. | Discoveries and Confessions | 89 |
| 12. | A Newspaper Paragraph | 93 |
| Book 2 | Macquarie Harbour - 1833 | |
| 13. | The Topography of Van Dieman's Land | 97 |
| 14. | The Solitary of "Hell's Gates" | 101 |
| 15. | A Social Evening | 105 |
| 16. | The Bolter | 116 |
| 17. | Sylvia | 120 |
| 18. | A Leap in the Dark | 124 |
| 19. | The Last of Macquarie Harbour | 132 |
| 20. | The Power of the Wilderness | 138 |
| 21. | The Seizure of the Osprey | 145 |
| 22. | John Rex's Revenge | 152 |
| 23. | Left at "Hell's Gates" | 159 |
| 24. | "Mr." Dawes | 172 |
| 25. | What the Seaweed Suggested | 181 |
| 26. | A Wonderful Day's Work | 186 |
| 27. | The Coracle | 194 |
| 28. | The Writing on the Sand | 201 |
| 29. | At Sea | 206 |
| Book 3 | Port Arthur - 1838 | |
| 30. | A Labourer in the Vineyard | 215 |
| 31. | Sarah Purfoy's Request | 228 |
| 32. | The Story of Two Birds of Prey | 239 |
| 33. | "The Notorious Dawes" | 248 |
| 34. | Maurice Frere's Good Angel | 257 |
| 35. | Mr. Meekin Administers Consolation | 262 |
| 36. | Rufus Dawes's Idyll | 268 |
| 37. | An Escape | 273 |
| 38. | John Rex's Letter Home | 277 |
| 39. | What Became of the Mutineers of the Osprey | 287 |
| 40. | A Relic of Macquarie Harbour | 301 |
| 41. | At Port Arthur | 304 |
| 42. | The Commandant's Butler | 309 |
| 43. | Mr. North's Indisposition | 314 |
| 44. | One Hundred Lashes | 323 |
| 45. | Kicking Against the Pricks | 329 |
| 46. | Captain and Mrs. Frere | 334 |
| 47. | In the Hospital | 339 |
| 48. | The Consolation of Religion | 343 |
| 49. | "A Natural Penitentiary" | 347 |
| 50. | A Visit of Inspection | 351 |
| 51. | Gathering in the Threads | 361 |
| 52. | Running the Gauntlet | 374 |
| 53. | In the Night | 381 |
| 54. | The Flight | 388 |
| 55. | The Work of the Sea | 393 |
| 56. | The Valley of the Shadow of Death | 406 |
| Book 4 | Norfolk Island - 1846 | |
| 57. | Extracted from the Diary of the Rev. James North | 417 |
| 58. | The Lost Heir | 429 |
| 59. | Extracted from the Diary of the Rev. James North | 441 |
| 60. | Extracted from the Diary of the Rev. James North | 449 |
| 61. | Mr. Richard Devine Surprised | 454 |
| 62. | In Which the Chaplain is Taken Ill | 459 |
| 63. | Breaking a Man's Spirit | 467 |
| 64. | Extracted from the Diary of the Rev. James North | 472 |
| 65. | The Longest Straw | 477 |
| 66. | A Meeting | 483 |
| 67. | Extracted from the Diary of the Rev. James North | 491 |
| 68. | The Strange Behaviour of Mr. North | 495 |
| 69. | Mr. North Speaks | 501 |
| 70. | Getting Ready for Sea | 507 |
| 71. | The Discovery | 517 |
| 72. | Fifteen Hours | 523 |
| 73. | The Redemption | 526 |
| 74. | The Cyclone | 532 |
| Epilogue | 538 |
| Appendix | 539 |