It's the early 1890's, an era of larger-than-life quests. John Jacobs, a na ve but zealous British philanthropist, journeys from Zululand in South Africa to the kingdom of Matebeleland to establish the first school of any kind there. Opposition and secret rivalries engulf him as he arrives, and for a while, everything remains dark. But John can take solace in the love of the two women he becomes entangled with, both of them daughters of the kingdom's ruling indunas. Time goes on and permission to build is finally granted, but things get more complicated when the two young women both register in John's school as first graders. The frontier itself is brutal and the Matebeles exact heavy tolls on those they have conquered. Unwilling to turn a blind eye, John gets sucked into age-old enmities. Will he emerge unscathed?