In 1959, charismatic criminal Kevin John Simmonds promises that prison will not hold him. Two months later he escapes from Long Bay Gaol, transforming a bold boast into a national sensation. When his flight takes a deadly turn, Detective Ray Kelly leads an enormous armed manhunt to bring him back. Michael Adams traces the crimes, escape and pursuit that made Simmonds both Public Enemy No. 1 and an underdog admired by sections of the Australian public. Looking beyond the fugitive’s headline-making adventures, the account examines his personal tragedies, code of honour and confrontation with the police and establishment, placing his story within the Australia of the rock-and-roll era.