At bleak Port Arthur, Tasmania, Ensign Harcourt Lowther broods over the life he believes he deserves: wealth, rank, admiration, and the grand career denied to him by exile. Handsome, gifted, and vain, he is trapped in a convict settlement he despises, while his only constant companion is Francis Tredethlyn, the cheerful soldier assigned as his valet. Lowther calls him a clod, yet Francis proves literate, capable, and quietly independent, moving with equal ease among convicts, animals, and the rough realities of colonial life. Beneath the comedy of master and servant lies a sharper drama of class, character, and hidden worth. As family news, lost hopes, and romantic tensions surface, Francis is drawn back toward Susy in Cornwall and the possibility of an inheritance after his uncle's death. Meanwhile, Maude Hillary faces the humiliating truth of Francis's former service under Lowther, even as she struggles with her own secret: Lowther was once her fiance. When Harcourt reappears, polished and unruffled, the novel deepens its web of pride, sacrifice, and uncertain love. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.
