Kurt inherits his father's ability to speak to animals. He is a loner. His parents died when he is young. He decides to go medical school after college and then to Austria to specialize in his surgical training. While in Austria, he falls in love with a fellow student, Mia. They marry and follow through on her plan to go to Kenya and serve with Doctors Without Borders. While there, they are attacked by Somali terrorists, who take Kurt hostage.