To get away from James Coleman, Jaquie accepts an offer as a last minute replacement on a reality show called ‘Celebrity Frontiers’ where the contestants must live as they did in early settler times. Jaquie realizes the anguish on these shows isn’t just played up from the camera and wants out. But Kim reminds her that if she’s voted off too early it will only cement her stagnant career, and that her only option is to win.

The reality show becomes a little too real as the celebrities get stranded in the Hunua ranges with no wilderness skills to help them. But the elements are not their only concern, as it appears they have stumbled into a secret Maori militant training camp. The militants take Brooke Howard Smith and Claire Chitham hostage and make a series of impossible ransom demands to be met within 24 hours. While the authorities struggle to locate them and the deadline draws closer, it soon becomes apparent that their only hope may lie in the trembling and overly manicured hands of Joel Tobeck and Jaquie Brown.