Episode list

South Africa, 1837: the Boers feel discriminated against by the new British laws, such as the abolition of slavery, and leave the Cape Colony. This also applies to the small community of French-speaking Huguenots, led by Pastor Malan.

South Africa, 1837: The trek of a small Huguenot community continues north-eastwards to escape the British laws in the Cape Colony. After crossing the Orange River, the first members are close to total exhaustion. A young slave couple had escaped from the convoy in the hope of freedom. The community finds them dying of thirst in the veld, which their leader Pastor Malan interprets as God's just punishment for their escape. The Zulu, whose land the trek invades, observe the convoy from a safe distance. Kosa, one of Zulu King Dingane's most loyal warriors, urges him to act before the white settlers steal more and more land from their tribe. But Dingane still believes his people are invincible. Pastor Malan is also not thinking of any danger from outside, he is looking forward to the next day because he has been able to convince the widowed Catherine to marry him against the resistance of her 12-year-old daughter Marthe and her 15-year-old son Joseph. For Catherine, it is not a marriage for love; the single mother and widow is aware that she will not find a place in the community if she remains unmarried. Malan is making the best possible preparations for his wedding day when the Zulu warriors launch a momentous attack .

South Africa, 1837: A Boer trek of French-speaking Huguenots leave the Cape Colony because of what they perceive as discriminatory British laws. The widowed Catherine and her children Marthe and Joseph are also part of the community, which is led by Pastor Malan. During a Zulu attack that interrupts Catherine's wedding to the pastor, Marthe is abducted by Zulu warriors. As Malan refuses to provide Catherine with a rescue party for Marthe, she decides with a heavy heart to leave her son Joseph behind and set off on her own in search of her daughter. The only person who can help Catherine is the Zulu warrior Kosa, who has been arrested by the convoy. When it turns out that he speaks her language, Catherine kidnaps him so that he can take her to her daughter. But after days of marching in the deadly heat, both are in danger of dying of thirst. At the end of their tether, they come across the lonely farm of a Griqua family who have dropped out. The family's condition for providing for them is that Catherine no longer treats Kosa as a prisoner. She agrees. But even this moment of respite does not last long. Suddenly Malan's brother Chad is standing outside the farm. He has followed Catherine and Kosa at the behest of the pastor and it becomes clear that he will stop at nothing to enforce the interests and laws of the community.

South Africa, 1837: A Boer trek emigrates from the Cape Colony into the hinterland - into Zulu tribal territory - because of the new British laws, which they perceive as discriminatory. The widow Catherine and her two children Marthe and Joseph are also part of the trek. Marthe is abducted during a Zulu attack on the convoy. After the Boer leader, Pastor Malan, refuses to help her, Catherine sets off in search of her daughter herself with the help of the captured Zulu warrior Kosa. After weeks of travelling in scorching heat, they both arrive at the court of Zulu King Dingane. Catherine is smuggled in by Kosa as his prisoner. While Catherine finds Marthe in prison with a high fever, Kosa tries in vain to persuade Dingane to treat mother and child peacefully. When the 'Voortrekker' Piet Retief comes to Dingane with a delegation to negotiate, the meeting ends in a bloodbath and almost all the members of the Burgen group are killed. But in the chaos, Kosa manages to get Catherine and Marthe to safety. When the settlers around Pastor Malan finally reach the camp of the dead Piet Retief, they learn that a major battle between the Zulu and the Boers on the Ncome River is imminent. Equipped with rifles and cannons, the Boers prepare for the clash. Among the volunteer fighters is Catherine's son Joseph. Will she be able to save him too?