The Pioneers — Terry Nelsen Bonner

The growing colony of New South Wales becomes a battleground between convict descendants and pioneering free settlers.

Edward Carmichael, a young London aristocrat, came to the new land to make his fortune and establish a position in Sydney society.

When he meets and falls in love with Doreen Finnegan, a young Irish convict, her beauty and spirit irrevocably change Edward's plans--and his life.

Elizabeth Hope is the cherished daughter of an ex-officer with extensive land holdings in the colony; her London past pales beside her love for the vibrant land of her birth--New South Wales.

In spite of her family's anger and the disapproval of society she fiercely defends her love for Tom Melville, the son of convict parents, the lover with whom she wants to share her life.

The colony was built through the blood and sweat and tears of the convicts. It survives on the money and power of the free settlers. The two factions are natural enemies who will be united only through the valiant struggle of the new passionate generation.