The ambition to play for the All Black rugby team drives three generations of the McKenzie family, from the amateur days of the 1950s, through the tumult of the 1981 Springbok tour, to the age of professionalism. The All Black is a novel that explores the allure and mystique of the famous black jersey, and delves deep into masculine culture; but it is also a novel to be enjoyed by mothers whose sons regularly take to the field. The novel is about family bonds, the implications for players, in earlier generations, of Maori heritage; and the consequences of unbridled ambition.