From the hugely popular }Sunday Times{ bestselling author, comes her stunning new novel set in London in 1854. It follows 20-year old Essie Chapman who, destined for a life of poverty, becomes involved in something far greater than she could have guessed as she sets sail on a new adventure. The first in a stunning new series from Sunday Times bestseller, Dilly CourtLondon, 1854: twenty-year-old Essie Chapman lives with her father in poverty stricken Limehouse, working on the river as a boatman. Her life seems set before her, never to leave this part of London and forever at her father's beck and call.Then, one night, she must transport a mysterious man from a foreign ship to the banks of the Thames, a man who ends up renting a room in Essie's house, identifying himself only as `Raven'.When curiosity gets the better of her, Essie follows him and unwittingly becomes involved in something far greater than she could ever have guessed. Finding herself on a ship bound for the penal colonies in Australia with Raven and his cousin Alice, this is only the start of a remarkable journey taking her to the other side of the world and back again.