With the society's modest financial backing, he sets sail aboard the naval vessel Vityaz to New Guinea to begin his research.
Observing the local islanders, he is fascinated by their craftsmanship in constructing elaborate boats and the use of carvings on canoes, trees, and shields, which he identifies as a primitive form of ideographic writing.
His companions also face great challenges; a dark-skinned adolescent succumbs to fever, followed by the death of Tomson, a white servant who confesses on his deathbed that he had been spying on the Russian scientist under orders from Dr. Brandler.
After years of exploration, Miklouho-Maclay returns to Sydney, where he reunites with and marries Margaret Robertson, who becomes his devoted partner in scientific work.
However, the incursion of the "German Association for the South Seas" into New Guinea and Dr. Brandler’s involvement forces Miklouho-Maclay into a difficult struggle to defend his perspective, shaped by years of travel and research.