In 1796 the London Missionary Society sent the ship Duff to deliver thirty young missionaries to the Polynesian kingdoms. One of them, bricklayer George Vason, soon abandoned his mission in Tonga and his faith, married a local woman, and managed a plantation. After a civil war resulted in the deaths of three missionaries and the hasty removal of the rest, Vason suffered guilt and shame at his loss of faith and wrote this book to warn other young men against his mistakes. A fascinating account of Polynesia at the beginning of European contact.