The Prince fo the Pacific

In 1918, Alfred de Morsac, the heroic captain of a French military naval ship happens upon Fenua Poerava, a lost paradise island in the Polynesian archipelago. There he and his men discover an ancient warrior tribe, the Hiva, under the mean-spirited rule of the contemptible Commander Lefebvre. Morsac befriends the child Reia, the prince of the island, who sees him as the legendary "Tefa'aora," the Tahitian savior who will free the people from oppression. But Reia's mother and others on the island detest Morsac, who must go on the run. Accompanying him on a twenty year journey traveling far and wide is Barnabe, a good-natured rip-off artist.