Set in the early days of the convict period, The Water People is Angela Badger's second historical novel. The story is based on news reports and anecdotes from the period, which recount how a search party was lost during violent storms on the shores of Botany Bay. They had been searching for a convict who was believed to have abducted a woman after murdering her mother. Only the convict came out of the bush - manacled, exhausted and silent. He died under the lash and his secret died with him.