The settlement of Dun is a safe place, fortified from raider attacks, with its own spring to provide fresh water for all. The spring has never failed them - as long as it flows, Dun will never fall. When the village captures a young raider, Nessan pleads to keep him alive, against the wishes of the elders. As the Chief's daughter, she wins out. Their captive settles into the village, he and Nessan become cautious friends. Things are peaceful. Until the spring begins to dry up. Have they angered the gods by not killing this raider? Or is there some other force at work?

In this autobiographical account of life in Honiara, capital of Solomon Islands, Michael Kwa'ioloa reflects on the challenges of raising a family in town, managing marriage exchanges, and sustaining ties with a distant rural homeland in Malaita island. He also participates in a long tradition of political activism by community leaders or chiefs, whose role was severely tested by the violent conflict between Malaitans and the indigenous Guadalcanal people at the turn of the century. Kwa'ioloa provides a local perspective on the causes and course of this unhappy episode in his country's history.