John Best is a master carpenter who works hard to provide for his family in 19th century East Anglia. One day he meets a stranger, Luke Thackery a chance encounter, which will change his life forever. Luke encourages John to consider the plight of the labouring classes and to attend a protest meeting which soon turns ugly. A riot ensues and John is wrongly arrested and falsely accused of sedition, tried, found guilty and sentenced to be transported to Australia, far away from his beloved family. After enduring many months of squalor, degradation, brutality and deprivation on board a prison ship, John finally reaches his destination. Not all of the convicts survived the journey and made it to Australia. During the eight month passage, two guards become Johns nemeses and frequently try to harm him. When he witnesses the murder of a fellow convict, John promises that, within a year he will avenge the killing and make the perpetrators pay for their crime. Johns Promise is the story of one mans struggle to survive the frequent violence, prove his innocence and clear his name, get justice for his friend and be reunited with his beloved wife Rebecca and return to England.
