This story is a fictional reconstruction of the momentous visit to the island of Hawaii in 1779 by Captain James Cook and his company aboard H.M.S. Resolution and Discovery. The natives believed this first white visitor to be Lono, their long-awaited god of agriculture and the harvest. Realizing the benefits of being thought a god, Cook did nothing to dispel the misconception. Although most of his crew thoroughly enjoyed the pleasures offered by the island paradise, some men, including Ship's Master William Bligh (later captain of H.M.S. Bounty) and the American colonist John Ledyard,...