Wild Boys

In 1860s colonial New South Wales, Jack Keenan and his friend Dan Sinclair establish themselves as bushrangers, targeting travelers for their valuables. The pair move through the countryside with a mix of bravado and recklessness, setting the tone for their outlaw partnership.

The two bushrangers ambush travelers on a horse-and-cart route, hoping to seize a large stash of valuables. The raid is only partially successful, underscoring their audacious yet precarious criminal activity. Their actions ripple through the local community.

A third bushranger, Hogan, participates in the robbery but lets his true loyalties slip. His uneasy alliance with Jack and Dan ends when Fuller recognizes him, sealing Hogan’s fate.

Francis Fuller, Hopetoun’s new Police Superintendent, vows to kill Jack and Dan and sets out to eliminate them at any cost. His relentless pursuit turns the town into a pressure cooker of suspicion and danger.

Jack returns to Hopetoun after months away and takes shelter at the inn run by Mary Barrett, with whom he has a complicated relationship. Mary is angry about his absence and the danger his outlaw life brings.

Fuller closes in on Jack and Dan, nearly trapping them at the inn. In the ensuing confrontation, Fuller recognises Hogan and shoots him, killing the man who had slipped into the operation.

On another robbery attempt, Fuller ambushes the trio on the road and they are captured. The grim setup foreshadows a deadly court battle and the end of their current freedom.

Fuller intends to kill Jack, Dan, and the innocent farrier Conrad Fischer under the pretence of criminal charges. He hopes to eliminate Conrad because of Emelia Fife’s affections for him and his own interest in the mayor’s daughter.

Realising the danger, the three escape from the cart, hijack the horses, and ride off. To fund new weapons, they decide to rob the Hopetoun police station payroll.

Conrad initially refuses to help but, when he sees the trio in trouble, he creates a diversion to save them. Afterward, they share part of the earnings with him and he resolves to seek his fortune at the Gold Rush.

Emelia Fife, the mayor’s daughter, is told by Fuller that Conrad has been killed, causing grief and suspicion that Fuller’s anger over rejection motivated the accusation.

Conrad later visits Emelia, and they admit their feelings for each other. He promises to return for her and to try for a fortune at the gold mines.

Dan takes a break and Jack stays at a family house, where he hears screams. The masked figure kills the head of the household and shoots Jack, leaving him unconscious as danger closes in.