SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE
WINNER OF THE 2006 COMMONWEALTH WRITERS' PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE IMPAC DUBLIN PRIZE
London, 1806. William Thornhill, happily wedded to his childhood
sweetheart Sal, is a waterman on the River Thames. Life is tough but
bearable until William makes a mistake, a bad mistake for which he and
his family are made to pay dearly.
His sentence: to be transported to New South Wales for the term of his
natural life. Soon Thornhill, a man no better or worse than most, has to
make the most difficult decision of his life.