The story of botched mini-rebellions, failed escape attempts, mutiny, wild rumours, conspiracies, betrayals and personal tragedy. The author reveals the lives of the key rebels and their enemies against a background of Irish politics in the colonial period.

On 5 March 1804, a small group of resolute convicts, many of them Irishmen, staged a revolt against the colonial government. With the cry of 'Death or Liberty' a short but bloody rebellion took place, resulting in the death of twenty-four rebels and the arrest of 300 others. yet this event in Australia's history her largely been ignored.

Among the embezzlers, forgers, petty thieves, sheep stealers and house breakers transported to the colony, were men whose crimes were purely political. The resentment of these political prisoners knew no bounds. Many of the Irish convicts, incensed by the injustice of their situation, were infuriated by the lack of official records and the resulting confusion over the lengths of their sentences. Disillusioned by the impossibility of returning to Ireland, the dissidents created a state of constant unrest in the new community. Cropping their hair in the style of the French revolutionaries, they formed secret leagues and held clandestine meetings to plan their escape from exile. In desperation, they laid siege to the colony and demanded to be taken home to Ireland.