From Back Cover:
In the dark backstreets of Stepney, Ikey Soloman is the King rat. A notorious criminal, his only fear is that Hannah, his resentful and ambitious wife, will force him to reveal his half of the combination to the safe where their joint wealth is hidden. When Hannah and Mary, Ikey's intelligent and resourceful mistress, are deported to a penal colony to Van Dieman's land, Ikey's determination to get hold of the money leads him, under a false name, to the colony where money leads him, under a false name, to the colony where he too is imprisoned.
Driven by their mutual hatred, Ikey and Hannah survive as beset they can whilst Mary, who has become the owner of "The Potato Factory", makes and sells bootleg liquor. She too has half of the combination to the safe, and when she adopts twin babies, one black, one white, she determines to get the money for herself. But Hannah, and Ikey, have other plans.
In the dark backstreets of Stepney, Ikey Soloman is the King rat. A notorious criminal, his only fear is that Hannah, his resentful and ambitious wife, will force him to reveal his half of the combination to the safe where their joint wealth is hidden. When Hannah and Mary, Ikey's intelligent and resourceful mistress, are deported to a penal colony to Van Dieman's land, Ikey's determination to get hold of the money leads him, under a false name, to the colony where money leads him, under a false name, to the colony where he too is imprisoned.
Driven by their mutual hatred, Ikey and Hannah survive as beset they can whilst Mary, who has become the owner of "The Potato Factory", makes and sells bootleg liquor. She too has half of the combination to the safe, and when she adopts twin babies, one black, one white, she determines to get the money for herself. But Hannah, and Ikey, have other plans.
