Frank and Mette Hardy are off to the southernmost point of New Zealand to chase gold thieves and to retrieve a manuscript for Mette to translate. But they have chosen to travel on an ill-fated voyage. Twenty miles from Bluff, on the south coast of the South Island of New Zealand, the SS Tararua hits a reef and sinks, with massive loss of life.

This real event was the second worst maritime disaster in New Zealand's history, in a country heavily reliant on shipping at that time. But the couple have more than a shipwreck to deal with, including a kidnapping, a murder, two lively baby girls and several cases of mistaken identity.