It is 1857 and the Reverend Geoffrey Wilson has set out for Tasmania, hoping to find the true site of the Garden of Eden. But the journey is turning out to be less than straightforward - dissent is growing between him and sinister racial-theorist Dr Potter, and, unknown to both, the ship they have hurriedly charted is in fact a Manx smuggling vessel, fleeing British Customs.

In Tasmania the aboriginal people have been fighting a desperate battle against British invaders, and, as the passengers will discover, the island is now far from being an earthy paradise.

Winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year 2000, and shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

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