Based on the true story of Irish convict John Graham who escapes from a penal settlement at Moreton Bay, Australia, and flees into the bush. The Kabi, a tribe of Aborigines, accept him as one of their own. John learns their language and customs during his six years with the tribe. Recaptured by the British and sentenced to death, he is offered a stay of execution if he can rescue Eliza Fraser, a Scottish woman who has survived a shipwreck only to be captured by the Kabi.