SYNOPSIS
LOGLINE: When Zsófi inherits a cherry orchard, and
Cyclone Gabrielle destroys it, she must decide whether to
reinstate and rebuild, or to go with Plan B.
GENRE: A science-based eco-disaster story of tomorrow,
with echoes of The Day After Tomorrow, Interstellar, and
Chekhov’s play The Cherry Orchard. One birthing scene; no
other nudity. Minimal profanity. No on-screen violence.
SYNOPSIS: (Novel) Following the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle, Zsófi’s inherited cherry orchard lies in ruins, forcing her to confront a stark choice: cling to a fading legacy or forge a radical new path for a world in crisis. Barely eighteen and reeling from her mother’s death, Zsófi, an ardent environmentalist sympathetic to movements like Greta Thunberg, Extinction Rebellion, and Just Stop Oil, finds her green idealism clashing immediately with Yuvan.
A drone engineer and old family friend, Yuvan embodies an exploitative approach to the natural world, viewing it as a resource for economic gain. He arrives ostensibly to help with the clean-up, but soon offers to buy the ruined farm, hoping Zsófi will relocate south. Complicating matters, Yuvan is somehow connected to Tamara, Zsófi’s close friend and confidante, who has rebelled against her own overbearing evangelical mother.
Under increasing surveillance – evident when Zsófi and her mentor, botanist Inna, are photographed – Zsófi reluctantly embraces ‘Plan B’, relocating to an Ōtākou orchard. Here, her activism escalates. Drawing on her grief and inspired by her cousin Ferenc fighting in Ukraine, she co-founds CAGE (Citizens Against Global Exploitation), a global movement that rapidly gains traction.
This heightened profile attracts intense scrutiny; shadowy forces — men in black, black SUVs, and mysterious drones appearing over her new farmstead — suggest a powerful, unseen adversary linked to the exploitation she fights. Zsófi channels her ongoing grief into writing stories about elves and an elephant matriarch, opening a window into her resilient mindset.
Amidst escalating threats, Zsófi endures profound personal losses. Seeking continuity and hope in a deteriorating world, Zsófi, now over thirty, decides to have a child with Altan, a former fruit-picker who has remained by her side. Yuvan, despite their ideological differences, even constructs a cot for the unborn child, hinting at a complex relationship beyond their clashes.
As a new, highly lethal pandemic sweeps the globe, decimating populations and isolating Aotearoa (ultimately claiming Sara, Yuvan’s partner, and Yuvan himself a week later), and colony collapse disorder devastates bee populations, Zsófi adapts. She and Tamara burn the ruined hives, rebuilding and replanting the orchard with resilient blueberry and olive, symbolising a hopeful, sustainable future. Zsófi’s war-veteran cousin, Ferenc, arrives, offering a crucial layer of protection against the persistent menaces on the farm, a testament to the dangers of their isolated existence.
Forced into isolation by the ongoing pandemic, Zsófi chooses to home-birth her baby. She gives birth to a girl, Odval, but tragically haemorrhages and dies shortly after. Tamara, plagued by guilt over her past activities still afraid to tell all, steps into the role of mother. With the help of Hawaiki, a young ward brought by Sara, and a local wet-nurse, Tamara embraces her new responsibility with fierce dedication.
As the world outside descends further into chaos — marked by wildfires, extreme weather, and a crumbling global supply chain — Tamara, Hawaiki, and Altan nurture the Ōtākou farm. It transforms into a thriving, self-sufficient communal haven, an Amish-style beacon of resilient life against a backdrop of global collapse.
TIME/PLACE: New Zealand, 2022 onwards. For realism and
credibility, the main timeline spans two decades. Thus,
the schoolgirls are in their mid-thirties toward the end. Epilog set in 2092.
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