The French successfully colonised the South Island in 1839 and South Zealand or Le Sud became an independent French-speaking nation. Today Le Sud is a prosperous socialist country where people work only 30 hours a week, enjoy long wine-fuelled lunches, and the popular Prime Minister, Francois Duvauchelle, is a renowned womaniser. Crucially the country also has huge hydro-electric resources. The English-speaking citizens of the North Island are far less happy. North Zealanders work long hours for little reward, their free-market experiment ended in disaster, and race relations are at rock bottom. Starved of much-needed electricity, North Zealand lives in permanent recession.
The story of a delegation from North Zealand, led by Prime Minister Jim Petersen, who travel south to the beautiful chateau at Wanaka au Lac to persuade their rich neighbors to provide them with cheap electricity.