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by John Carstensen (Author)
"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth." I Corinthians 13: 6
Young Finbar Kelly enlists in the British Imperial Army and makes the journey from his home in Ireland to New Zealand in 1863. He's embarking on a bold new life-serve his term, earn a land grant and build a future on his own farm.
But the dream soon turns to a nightmare. The Army's first action is to put down the rebellion of the natives, who are threatening to attack Auckland-so they are told. The enemy, the Māori are not the primitive savages they are expecting, and the conflict is not as they were led to believe. The more Kelly learns of the political intrigue, the more disillusioned he becomes with the injustice, the betrayals of the Treaty, and the atrocities.
A deepening connection with a Māori family forces him to confront his own conscience, leading him toward a painful reckoning and, ultimately, a transformative spiritual awakening.
New Zealand's dark past of colonisation, warfare and betrayal may make for uncomfortable reading. But Kelly's journey of redemption and faith shines as a beacon of light against that darkness.
