Gideon Lancaster, a New Zealand soldier fighting for the British, infiltrates a Boer commando. He soon finds himself entangled in a confusion of loyalties as he becomes better acquainted with the men and, worse, falls in love with Esther Calitz, a Boer woman of considerable mettle who demands his loyalty over every other allegiance. Between Esther and Commandant Jacob Eksteen, his taciturn rival in love and a man of clear black-and-white convictions, Lancaster navigates his way only with great difficulty. So powerful are the conflicting demands of fidelity and love that he seizes a quixotic opportunity when a large British battalion is mobilised in what is to be the final triumph of the imperial forces.