Claybourne

Two people in Claybourne attempt to repair what has been broken between them. Forgiveness comes easier to some than others. The land remembers what people try to forget.

Queenie organises a powhiri for the stranger. Thompson stands on the marae atea, uncertain of the protocol but certain that something profound is happening. The ceremony is beautiful, ancient, and possibly binding.

Mike, Mata, and Queenie sit together, and the weight of whakapapa, obligation, and love fills the room. Across town, Frank pours a drink alone. Family is the thing you can't troubleshoot.

A classified document surfaces that connects the satellite station to something far larger and far darker than telecommunications. The word "Koestler" starts to taste different in Thompson's mouth.

A decision made in haste has consequences that ripple outward. Someone trusted the wrong person with the wrong information. In a town where the phones can't always be trusted, a bad call can mean more than one thing.

Tensions that have been simmering boil over at the hotel pub. Frank's plans for the town collide with Mata's sense of what the land demands. Thompson discovers that neutrality is not an option in Te Irirangi.

The road between Claybourne and Kawakawa is winding, poorly lit, and not always empty. An accident on the coast road changes the stakes. Someone's injuries are more than physical.

Mike has a trick he likes to show people, and a knack for being in the wrong place at exactly the right time. A small act of sleight-of-hand reveals something larger. Not everything in Claybourne is what it appears to be.