Elliot Porter is a young, ambitious newspaperman living in colonial New Zealand. When the death of a dear friend reveals long-held secrets, he sets out on a journey to discover the truth about his past. Lana Hansen, a law school graduate relegated to a secretarial role by a male-dominated profession, has a life mapped out by her family's social standing in the local community. Her future prohibits involvement with any man judged her inferior. James Mackenzie comes to the colonies in search of a better life, but to his misfortune discovers greed, bigotry, and injustice have accompanied him to the new lands. Three lives, three people marginalized, three outsiders.