Cat and Ida meet when on her way to Mrs Robins's guesthouse, Cat is chased by some drunk men. Ida is in Nelson with Ottfried to buy provisions for the village, and when Cat sees her sitting on the wagon, she jumps to sit next to her, begging to help her. Ida sets the wagon in motion, and when she returns, Ottfried is not happy that his wife is not there. Cat ends up going to Sankt Pauli with them, but from the first it is clear that Ottfried lusts for Cat.
Life in the village becomes more and more difficult when the river keeps overflowing. Cat stays with Ida and Ottfried, and from the barn she hears how Ottfriend has his way with Ida, and on the days when he is drunk, Ida takes shelter next to her in the barn. Ottfried makes no secret that he wants Cat, but she she keeps a knife with her all the time.
In a terrible flood they have to flee from the house, and they have to take refuge in the hut where Ida and Ottfried lived when they first got married. Ottfried claims that he will sleep somewhere else. Then he reappears, and as Cat has put the knife away, Ottfried rapes her several times. Cat wants to leave, but Ida begs her not to abandon her. The two women discover that they are pregnant.
Then there is a new flood that destroys the village, so the settlers have to return to Nelson. Cat intends to leave as soon as she can and ask the Maori from another tribe to take her in. In the meantime, the owner of the pub lets them stay in his shed, and they work in the pub cooking and cleaning. Some of the settlers have decided to leave for Australia, including Ida and Ottfried's families, but the young man doesn't want to go. He decides that if they travel further north, they can get land from the Maori and sell it- to new settlers. Cat intends to leave, but then Ottfried learns that Cat is expecting a child by him, and he threatens her. Ida doesn't want Cat to leave either, and she says that no one will accept her as a single mother, and since the children will be born around the same time, they can grow up as twins. Cat accepts to go with them. Ottfried's partner is Joe Gibson.
On the way north Ida discovers that her sister, Elsbeth, and Ottfried's brother, Erich, who are sweet on each other, are hiding among the wares in the cart as they snuck out of the ship that was to take them to Australia. They plan to live in New Zealand, the the two youngsters leave when they reach near Port Victoria. Ida lets them go because she knows they can't discover Cat's pregnancy.
Joe takes them to an abandoned Maori village, and even though Cat tells them that it is sacred and forbidden to live there, she can't persuade the men. They start living there. Cat goes with the men for four weeks to translate for them, and the men get land from the Maori. After they return, the men go away to sell the land, and it is around this time that the women have their babies. Both of them are girls. Ida calls hers Carol, and Cat names hers Linda. Ida has a hard time accepting her own baby, and strangely she is drawn to Cat's baby more. Ottfried is not happy that the two babies are girls, but he believes there will be boys the next time, and after leaving Ida alone for most of her pregnancy, he starts again. He is not happy that he is having a hard time selling the land they get from the Maori.
Chris Fenroy's wife, Jane, is not happy as she is more and more bored every day. Then in a casual encounter with the chieftain Te Haitara, she learns that the man is worried because his villagers can't get the things the merchant brings because they have no money. So Jane comes up with a plan to make money for them. So she acts as their mediator with the merchant. She offers medicines and some amulets from the Maori for a price, and it is a success as the merchant returns two weeks later for more wares. Now the villagers are not so happy because they are supposed to produce wares quickly.
Karl is now in Wellington, and he has received a letter from Tuckett, asking him to join him in Australia for some work. Karl still mourns for the loss of Ida and is considering travelling to Australia. Then he happens to see Ida's sister, Elsbeth, who now goes by Betty, and she tells him that Ida is not in Australia but near Purau. I wonder if Karl will try to see her again.
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