John Paton Project

Based on a True Story. John Paton, a Scottish missionary arrives on the shores of a cannibalistic island in the New Hebrides (Vanuatu today), where many missionaries have arrived before only to be killed by its inhabitants or disease. After burying his beloved wife and one-month old baby, a few months after arriving. John, struggles through several bouts of malaria as he fights to maintain the mission and protect himself from several offenses by the native inhabitants, including Miaki, the Devil King, a warrior and sacred man. Through the example of his wife's perseverance, he builds a relationship with a local chief and works to convince the island's inhabitants to abandon their tribal warfare, cannibalism, and violent misogyny.