It is 1795 and Timothy Bartlett is the youngest member of his clan resident in Polperro, a remote fishing village on the south Cornish coast. He grows up in a tight-knit community whose world of interest stretches not much further than Plymouth to the east and Falmouth to the southwest. The rhythm of life in the village is essentially governed by the tides, and by the presence or absence of swarms of large sardine pilchards which migrate along the English Channel. Life is mundane, peaceful, and regular for years, until a stranger upsets the harmony of the village, and an unfortunate accident throws the citizens into conflict with government officials and the law. Tim becomes the victim of an unjust system and is sentenced to life imprisonment, his time to be served in Botany Bay on the other side of the world. His unusual strength and the goodness that is inherent in the values with which he was raised stand him in good stead on the perilous trip across the oceans. The Captain and other authorities on board speak well of him to officials in Sydney. He finds himself sent 'up country' where he is put to work in a ship-building yard. His loneliness at leaving family behind is mitigated by hard work and a relentless pursuit of opportunities designed to overcome his situation. Constantly looking for the positives associated with the transition of the penal colony into a civilized country, he succeeds where other convicts fail, receiving his pardon early and developing a flourishing business of his own. His seamanship skills are called on in dangerous adventures seal-hunting. Beyond business success, the needs and fulfilment of personal companionship lead him to a joyous union with a loving, sensitive, but realistic fellow convict who bears him three children. As the children grow older he talks of retiring to the coast where he could live by the sea again. The children ask about their father's life in England, and he involves them in an amazing and memorable event that crosses the bridge between the old and new countries. Sharing a long-held love, he shows them all how to "walk across the new land."