1879, Queensland. Fleeing her family home, 19-year-old Mary Oxnam has few prospects and no connections. Plain and penniless, she must rely on her audacious wit and fierce intelligence to survive.

Mary soon finds work as a pianist in a Cooktown brothel, a cover for more lucrative employment as a spy into smuggling operations. Within a year she has moved to Lizard Island, locked into a marriage of convenience. It’s a rough, isolated place, crawling with hidden enemies - and unexpected temptation.

Drawing on the little-known history of lawless Far North Queensland and based on the true story of a remarkable woman and her intriguing diary, The Secret Fate of Mary Watson is a thrilling tale of peril and intrigue, infused with a heady combination of beauty and foreboding.