Beyond Betrayal delves into New Zealand's pioneering history, and asks why such promising partnerships descended into decades of distrust. After the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, a succession of governors resisted missionary advice, despite their local knowledge and peacemaking skills, and influenced a raft of misunderstandings that provoked violent outbreaks across the country. The rise of Maori prophetic movements, and an intense desire for Maori to have a unified political voice, saw allegiances split between those supporting the government and those frustrated at failed Treaty promises. The pressure to surrender tribal lands had the same impact - a shattered economy and a dispossessed people.