In 1769, 20 years before the French Revolution, two famous navigators passed within 120 kms of each other off the coast of New Zealand; the first was Captain James Cook in command of the Endeavour; the other was French East India Company Captain Jean de Surville in the St Jean Baptiste. French-Pacific historian John Dunmore CNZM recounts the bittersweet story of France’s dreams of discovering the imagined Southern Continent, Surville’s remarkable stay amongst the Maori of Doubtless Bay, and the terrible price the adventure extracted. Told in a vivid narrative, this book is an extraordinary contribution to the history of pre- colonial New Zealand.