In 1880, the parents of young Englishman Jack Grant send him to a new life in a colony just founded in Western Australia. There, at the pier, he is met by Mr. George—an unmistakably “Dickensian” character—and introduced to his mother’s relatives.
Jack is in for many adventures and meetings with memorable, picturesque characters—some of whom are amusingly eccentric. He tames horses, fights kangaroos, and competes for the love of two of his cousins: Monika, with brown eyes (whom he later marries), and Mary, with dark eyes, who charmed him. Jack grows from a youth into an independent man, with his own vivid views on life and the future.