On a remote island, the Tangata and Miyaru clans maintain an uneasy peace through an old custom that requires the weaker Tangata to send one of their warriors to the Miyaru each year as a bride offering. Avel, son of the Tangata chief, wants to end the arrangement. Before he can act, he is rescued from danger by Tukiri, a gentle member of the rival clan whose people are said to carry the blood of sharks. Their unexpected connection forces Avel to reconsider both the enemy he thought he knew and the tradition binding their clans together.