When her tribe is defeated in battle, Atapo is captured and becomes a slave of her enemies. Freedom seems impossible, but somehow she escapes to the Pakeha mission station at Paihia. There, she is taught to read and write, and learns of the threat to Maori by unscrupulous settlers greedy for land. Against the backdrop of the Treaty of Waitangi, Atapo discovers how her education can save her tribal lands and help her reclaim her destiny as the guiding star of her people.
