Ikey Solomon is in the business of thieving & he's very good at it. Ikey's partner in crime is his mistress the forthright Mary Abacus until misfortune befalls them. They are parted & each must make the harsh journey from thriving nineteenth century London to the convict settlement of Van Diemen's L&. In the backstreets & dives of Hobart Town Mary learns the art of brewing & builds The Potato Factory where she plans a new future. But her ambitions are threatened by Ikey's wife Hannah her old enemy. The two women raise their separate families one legitimate & the other bastard. As each woman sets out to destroy the other the families are brought to the edge of disaster.