This novel is based on a true story. Fr. Laval in 1837 landed on the island of Manga Reva, which is about 1000 miles southeast of Tahiti. Armed only with his cunning, he learned the language and gained control of the king. He made the islanders build a cathedral, as part of his planned "City of God." Many of the natives died in the project. In this fictionalized version, the daughter of the king, Tiera Maputoa, loses her brother from a fall off the scaffolding. She vows revenge by leading a revolt. However, the demoralized natives offer no resistance. Through an unlikely series of events of British-French colonial rivalry, she gets her chance. However, Tiera must risk her own death.
