A story based on the escape attempt of George ‘Billy’ Hunt from the convict jail at Port Arthur, Tasmania

When in captivity time goeth very slow but free as air to roam now quick the time doth go.
—James Godfrey (convict), inscribed on a penny, 1846

The crack of the whip cut the frosty dawn, sending feverish shivers along the lines of sleeping men. Exhaustion kept them at a doze, although the sound pierced their flesh and settled in their bones. They had all endured the whip—but none had seen it ring so many times and with such ferocity as they did now.