In 1848 a sawyer, Robert Cox, was savagely murdered at Kangaroo Point and a considerable amount of money was presumed to have been stolen.

The next year, Patrick Mayne married and, despite being a poorly paid labourer, bought his own butcher's shop in what is now Brisbane's central business district.

The second half of the book deals mainly with the lives of these children, none of whom married, and in particular James O'Neil Mayne who used the wealth inherited from his father to become a philanthropist.

His most notable deed was funding the purchase of 270 acres (1.1 km2) of land at St Lucia for the University of Queensland.

The book was adapted for the stage by Errol O'Neill and premiered at Brisbane's La Boite Theatre in 2004.