It is 1912. Elsa Pendleton, a young Englishwoman, is forced by circumstance into a marriage of convenience. Her one consolation is that she can now fulfil a great dream: to visit Easter Island and study its mysterious history. But as Elsa becomes bewitched by the island and engrossed in her work, she doesnt realise that her beloved sister Alice is also caught up in desires of her own. Nor, in their isolation, do the two sisters realise that Britain and Germany have declared war, and that the catastrophic effects will be felt even in their quiet corner of the South Pacific. Sixty years later American botanist Greer Faraday, recently widowed, arrives on the island. Troubled by unhappy secrets, Greer wraps herself up in her work, rejecting the friendly approaches of her colleagues. But as she explores the island, her story becomes irresistibly entwined with Elsas, and she is forced to confront some unwelcome truths...