Alexander Kinghorne was a child of the Scottish Enlightenment, an agricultural innovator, surveyor, civil engineer and incurable romantic. But at the age of 54, driven by adversity and hope, he chose to take his family to the penal colony of New South Wales. Would he succeed in this new land? Would he rescue his children and restore them to the prominence in society he was sure was enjoyed by his shadowy forbears? Alexander's achievements extended beyond these things to a more intangible legacy of humanity and support for others.