In 1847, three sisters - Charlotte, Emily and Anne - live with their father on the island of Coldwater off the coast of the colony of New South Wales. the island is a prison, in every sense. the sisters\'9291 father is Governor Wolf, in charge of the island\'9291s penal settlement containing some of the most hardened convicts in the colony. Aware of their vulnerability as unmarried women, particularly should their father die, the sisters must find means to earn a living in the outside world. to this end they start writing novels. Within its shores, Coldwater contains both the passionate and romantic imaginations of the sisters and the brutal realities of convict life. It can only be a matter of time before these two worlds collide, and the dangers of the heart meet the dangers of armed revolt.