In 1821,British seaman Phillip Wayne sets foot on New Zealand where he befriends a Maori tribe and their chief,Hongi Tepe.The chief takes a liking to Wayne and invites him to come back to settle.On his return to England, Wayne's captain asks him to bring ashore a chest full of silk,possibly without being detected by the Customs agents.When Customs agents stop Wayne and search his chest they discover beneath the silks two shrunken heads of Maori warriors.Wayne realizes too late that his captain is involved in trafficking native shrunken heads that can fetch high prices on the illegal market in England.Arrested and condemned for the smuggling of this type of illegal artifact Wayne is banned from working as a seaman and he is fined. At this stage Wayne decides to marry his fiancée Marion and to return to New Zealand to settle there.He brings with him a handful of settlers but coexistence with the savage,cannibal,warlike Maori won't be easy.