A potboiler written with the gravitas of a tragedy. Aside from the increasingly improbable coincidences that pile on during the climax this story builds up to a brilliant conclusion, all the while sharing the horrors perpetrated upon the prisoners in the penal colonies of 19th Century Australia. The parallels with contemporary literature are obvious, but Dawes and Frere are a more visceral pair than Valjean and Javert, and Dawes - had he managed it - would have had the resources to Monte Cristo his way out of trouble if he had been able to make his way back to respectable society. As it is, this story has its own power and vision which makes it a compelling read.