The year is 1836. English clergyman William Yate sets sail from London, bound for the mission fields of northern New Zealand. Caught up in a mesmerising love affair that will test the imagination of everyone on board the Prince Regent, he is utterly transformed. Against the riveting backdrop of a four-month sea voyage and the vividly imagined society of the ship, the story of Yate unfolds, drawing together the inarticulate hopes of the cabin passengers, the immigrant families of steerage, and the raw men and boys of the crew.