When the ship anchors for repairs, Munro finds himself caught up in a battle between Māori tribes and witnesses the slaughter of innocents at the hands of chief Akatārewa. Munro manages to save the life of Rangimai, the daughter of Maianui, a rival chief whose land Epworth leases in a delicate arrangement.

As Munro begins to experience the white townsfolk’s entrenched racism and paranoia towards the Māori, he finds himself increasingly ostracized within the community he is meant to serve and realizes he has been brought to this isolated British outpost merely to add the veneer of civilization. After one of Maianui’s men is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Munro and Rangimai make the difficult journey into prohibited lands ruled by Māori warlords, in the hope of repairing the injustice. However, Munro soon realizes he is a pawn in a strategic play of power, and with bloody war between the two dominant tribes now inevitable, he must decide what role he will play and whether his faith is real or of any value.