Maggie is a working girl, by chance among English gentry pioneering a wilderness in The Great Southland. The settlers intend to create an Eden for themselves where, unlike turbulent Europe, class divisions are rigidly observed. At 17 Maggie falls for a dashing Hussar officer, but finds that wisdom gained only from books can be misleading. Undeterred, and prodded by her grim past, she applies her flawed knowledge to seeking justice for the dispossessed native people. To "guarantee peace" the brutal police chief of Swan River Colony is butchering them. Maggie's reasoning is sound but Fate is unkind. Her good intentions result in bloody conflict. Her personal obsession of a fair go for all in the new land must battle the biggest obstacle of all human nature. While self-contained, this is a sequel to Maggie's exciting odyssey to womanhood in Run Maggie Run."