She is forced to spend the summer in the sticks with her mother Doctor Ana Kingi, who abandoned her as a baby.
As Laurel is drawn into the fabric of the small town she meets Romeo, a boy taken off the streets of South Auckland by his Uncle, Robert McGregor, Ana’s childhood friend.
She also comes up against Mauki, a tough misunderstood local girl carrying a burden almost impossible to bear.
Together, Laurel and Ana discover how alike they really are. They unravel the past which kept them apart and uncover a seething pool of secrets, some, with the power to tear families apart.
Heart of the Tapu Stone is a story about connections, not just blood and family. A classic “fish out of water” tale, where city and country and maori and pakeha meet.