Sara Dane is being taken to Australia aboard a convict ship after being convicted of theft, where an officer and his wife learn that she can read and write, and decide to take her in to help care for their children.

The convict ship reaches its destination of New South Wales, Australia, where the group meets up with Jeremy Hogan, telling them to head to Parramatta to find farming land.

With the convict master out of town, some convicts stage a breakout, so Sara gives Hogan access to the family's guns and the pair attempt to keep things under control.

Andrew invites Sara's old friend Richard Barwell and his wife over for dinner in an attempt to garner the colony's favour, but Sara has her concerns.

Sara meets Louis de Bourget, a French man on a trip to Australia. Meanwhile, Andrew insists that he and Sara should attend the Governor's reception.

A group of rebel convicts hold up Sara and Andrew's carriage following a breakout, with one of them pointing a gun at Andrew.