Hawaii

In 1819, Prince Keoki Kanakoa appeals to the Yale Divinity School to bring Christianity to the Hawaiian Islands. A group of volunteers, including Reverend Abner Hale, prepares to embark on a mission. They plan to sail to Maui to establish a Christian presence in the islands.

The couple, along with other missionaries and Keoki, sail to Lahaina on Maui to begin work. They are confronted by what they perceive as the islanders' sinful practices, including an incestuous royal tradition. This clash foreshadows the cultural and religious tensions that dominate the story.

Jerusha takes an active role in aiding the natives, including rescuing a baby with a facial birthmark and opposing infanticide. Her actions demonstrate compassion and leadership that earns the locals' trust and support for the mission.

After a challenging labor, Jerusha gives birth to her son Micah. The birth strengthens her bonds with the community and deepens her belief in the mission's purpose.

During a stopover in a whaling voyage, Rafer Hoxworth learns of Jerusha's marriage to Abner and, filled with jealousy, vows to kill Abner. The threat hangs over the mission and personal relationships from this point forward.

Abner baptizes his first convert, Iliki, a young Hawaiian girl who was given to the Hales as a servant. This baptism marks the early growth of the church and tests the Hales' approach to sharing their faith with locals.

Malama Kanakoa agrees to learn about Christianity but resists conversion, fearing personal loss. She imposes a curfew on sailors and forbids fraternizing with native women, sparking a riot among sailors.

Sailors retaliate by partially burning the church, and the Hawaiians come to the Hales' aid to drive them back to their ships. Hoxworth pressures Jerusha to leave with him, but she refuses to abandon Abner or the mission.

Hoxworth entices Iliki to leave the island; Abner tries to retrieve her but is thrown overboard. He survives but is attacked by a shark, leaving him permanently lame.

Years later, Abner reveals to Keoki that he will never be ordained because he is not white. He urges Keoki to take a deacon role to oversee native activities, but Keoki refuses, straining their friendship and amplifying resistance to Christianity.

On her deathbed, Malama agrees to be baptized and renounces Kelolo as her husband. Soon after, a strong gale destroys the church, fulfilling a local prophecy.

Noelani becomes Alii Nui and marries Keoki, but Abner crashes the wedding, highlighting the rift between native authority and the mission. Kelolo departs for Bora Bora with Malama's heart, signaling the end of one era.

The birth of Noelani and Keoki's severely deformed child leads Abner to view it as punishment from God. Keoki drowns the child, and a measles outbreak devastates the population, killing hundreds, including Keoki.

Jerusha's years of toil take their toll and she dies, and Abner grows more compassionate toward Hawaiians and opposes land seizures by settlers. He is reassigned to Connecticut but remains in Hawaii to raise his children.

Back in Hawaii, Abner is greeted by a young Hawaiian man who wishes to be his assistant and is revealed to be the disfigured infant Jerusha had saved years before. Abner is overjoyed by the reunion, sensing a new purpose in his life.