The Silk Merchant's Son

<p>In 1845 linguistics professor Fabrice Cleriquot is despatched from Lyon to the Swan River Colony sent away with a box full of silkworms to stop him from bringing more disgrace upon the family. Accompanying him on board the <em>Elizabeth</em> are twenty-eight mismatched and misguided Catholic missionaries including Dom Salvado who seeks to create a Spanish Benedictine monastery deep in the bush and the Irish Sisters of Mercy who are fleeing a dreadful famine.</p><p>Given the job of distributing a huge donation from a wealthy benefactress Fabrice bears witness to the folly of his travelling companions whose presumptuous attempts to rescue the colony and the original inhabitants from themselves can only lead to tragedy.</p>