Twenty-two-year-old Jacob Tomkins is sentenced to seven years’ labour in the fledgling colony of Sydney Town, Australia. The voyage across the sea is arduous. He is travelling with mean, street-hardened criminals, some of whom would like to use him for their pleasure. Fortunately he meets Peter, who takes Jacob under his wing. Together they find moments of pleasure amid the drudgery of the voyage. They share their hopes and dreams, and finally declare their love for each other upon the eve of their arrival in Sydney Town -- a place where the currency is rum, distilled and controlled by the powerful military. But what will happen once they disembark? The chances of remaining together are slim. A lot can happen in seven years, especially when Jacob’s new master takes a liking to him. Is their love strong enough to survive the ravages of time? Can they survive the rigors of their sentences?

Across the Sea

Jacob didn’t look back. He scrambled out of the bunk and walked to the end of the cell, to the gate, away from everyone else. He wrapped his fingers around one of the bars and sucked both his feelings and his tears down with one mighty sniff.


“Lover’s tiff?” said a bedraggled looking man called Williams, who was leaning against the end post of a bunk.


Jacob lunged at him, grabbing him around the neck.


“Watch your words, old man,” he snarled, saliva flying in strings from his mouth.


Williams looked terrified and held his hands up in surrender. “Mercy. Have mercy.”


Chapter 11