Transported convict George Clarke absconded in the early 1800s and went far into the then unexplored wilderness of northern New South Wales. There, thought by the Aborigines to be a 'ghost', he lived with them

for four years, integrating into their lives and later leading them on raids to steal the white men's cattle. On eventual capture he claimed to have crossed the continent and to have discovered a great inland river, the 'Kindur'—a 'desired blessing' of the colonists—which prompted Major Thomas Mitchell's expeditions into the area.

This biography traces Clarke's eventful history from his transportation from England in 1824 for robbery, his escape and life with the Kamilaroi Aborigines, his ventures into bushranging, his capture and subsequent imprisonment on Norfolk Island, and death on the public gallows in Van Diemen's Land.