In 2023, Aotearoa was hit by not one, but two devastating cyclones within weeks of each other. The debris choked waterways and smothered the beaches, leading those who have lived on the land for generations to ask why. We follow the trail of destruction in Te Tairāwhiti back through decades of environmentally disastrous land-use decisions, in a race against time to prepare for future events.

What’s it going to take to clean up the mess of colonisation, and how can those who keep the home fires burning transition to a "new" old way of life that benefits both land and people?