DeSoto Brown is a lifetime collector and Hawaiian historian who has the perfect job for someone with a passion for preserving the past: he is the Collections Manager at the Bishop Museum Archives. Descended from famous 19th century Hawaiian historian and writer John Papa I'i, DeSoto surrounds himself with personal and political possessions from Hawaiian Ali'i, as well as stacks of other materials representing Hawaii's cultural and natural history.

DeSoto tells Leslie about starting to collect pieces of the past at the tender age of seven and how his passion has grown ever since. Lines are blurred between DeSoto's professional and personal life, because collecting the past is what he loves the most - on and off the job.