Being viewed by her peers as a little weird in her ways and beliefs, Millie, a girl from an extremely affluent family, becomes the toast of the town after disaster strikes and her special attitude and enthusiasm is just what is needed to help them cope with the difficult period ahead.

It is 1859 in the raw new township of New Plymouth where Hannah Carstairs walks between two worlds. To her father, she is Hannah; to her Maori step-mother, she is Hana who speaks Maori, but only when Papa isn't around. Soon, Hannah finds that both her worlds are changing. She finds some disturbing hints about her dead mother's past.

After her mother unexpectedly leaves her with her uncle's family, members of a fanatical Christian cult, Kirby tries to learn what has become of her mother and struggles to cope with the repressiveness of her new surroundings and to maintain her own identity.After her mother leaves her with her uncle's family, members of a Christian cult, Kirby tries to learn what has become of her mother and struggles to cope with the repressiveness of her surroundings and to maintain her own identity.