Not far from a provincial town in New Zealand, a twelve-year-old girl wades chest-deep into the cold water of a lake. She is Tui, the daughter of the local drug lord. Tui is five months pregnant. Did she try to take her own life? Who is the child's father? The welfare department informs detective Robin Griffin, who wants to solve the case against all odds. Then Tui suddenly disappears. Robin sets out on a search and discovers something mysterious: What is the legend about the demon in the lake all about? What is GJ, a female guru, up to with a container camp where women in midlife crisis come together? During her investigations, Robin is confronted with her own past.
What is striking about Jane Campion's (*1954) first work for television since 1990 is the narrative structure: the episodes follow one another like the chapters of a book ... The New Zealander, who thrilled cinema audiences with films such as An Angel at My Table (1990), The Piano (1993) and most recently Bright Star (2009), thus enjoys one of the many creative freedoms that are only possible in television. Nevertheless, the series is at its most intoxicating in the movies. The landscape shots are spectacular. Campion turned nature into a character in its own right - and it holds many secrets.
