Sentenced to transportation for life in 1841 and sent to Norfolk Island, William Russell entered a system designed to erase men. Drawing on archival records, court proceedings, and contemporary accounts, this book traces William Russell's passage from convict to husband and father, following a life lived under record, punishment, and suspicion. Rather than myth or legend, this is a documented account of endurance - of what it meant to live without freedom in a land built on punishment, and what it cost to leave no trace behind. Based on historical records, with interpretation where the record falls silent.
