The Maori tribes of Awhitu and Wailkatu are at war. Te Ponga, young chief of the Awhitus hears of the great beauty of Puhuhu, daughter of the old chief of the Waikatus, and in order to see her, flies the white flag of truce and pretends to make overtures for peace. The old chief, anxious for peace, receives Te Ponga with great pomp and ceremony and holds a great celebration in his honor at which Puhuhu dances. Te Ponga falls instantly in love with her, and she with him. That night, through the stratagem of one of Te Ponga’s warriors, the young lovers meet clandestinely, and plan to elope on the morrow. Puhuhu returns to her sleeping hut for the night, but Te Ponga and his braves steal to the water’s edge, strip all the Waikatu canoes of their paddles and place them in their own. Next morning Te Ponga takes ceremonious leave of his host, and is honored with the company of all the Waikatu maidens for a short ways from the village. The Waikatu men watch the procession from afar, and are aghast when they discover that Puhuhu, instead of returning with her companions, flees with Te Ponga. The old chief’s camp is instantly up in arms at the outrage and pursue the fleeing lovers, only to be baffled by Te Ponga’s cunning in removing the paddles. The young chief and his bride make a safe get-away in their swift canoe while the furious Waikatus spend their wrath in unavailing imprecations on the shore.