One young girl dared to confront the past, change the present and determine the future.
In a small New Zealand coastal village, the Maori people claim descent from Paikea, the Whale Rider. In every generation, a male heir has succeeded to the chiefly title. The time is now. When twins are born, and the boy twin dies, Koro, the chief, is unable to accept his granddaughter Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) as a future leader. Koro is convinced that the tribe’s misfortunes began at the time of Pai’s birth and calls for his people to bring their sons to him, in the hope that the new leader is among them. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny…