In 1819, an Irish farmer by the name of Alexander Pearce was sentenced to seven years penal transportation to Van Dieman's Land in Australia for the theft of six pairs of shoes. After a few months at the tender mercies of the prison authorities at Macquarie Harbour, Pearce and seven others decided to escape into the wild, inhospitable lands of the island of Tasmania with few resources beyond their wits and the stalwart companions at their sides...
