Louis Joblin

At the end of the 18th century, hundreds of Indian sailors, known as lascars, worked amongst European settlers in Aotearoa New Zealand - often under the gruesome working conditions of seal hunting gangs. The story follows a lascar, Dasa, who has been abandoned on the coast of Aotearoa NZ by the East India Company, alongside his sealing gang. When Dasa finds himself in the middle of a conflict between his abusive British superior and two Māori traders, he is faced with a choice: bend the knee or take a stand.

In a place lost to history, soldiers are sent to cull a rebellion brought on by mass psychosis. Ishmael, the executioner, and Boethius, an officiating priest, have grown tired of this bloodwork. When they’re tasked with killing Absalom, a delusional pig farmer who believes himself the royal heir, the two must make a decision; to execute him or to encourage his delusion. A path that could either absolve them of guilt or leave all three dead.

Trapped in a game of hide-and-seek gone wrong, a young girl watches her world unravel from the confines of a closet, haunted by a tragedy that keeps her hidden long after the game ends.