Eighteen-year-old Walker Scoville is in the midst of a safari in Southern Africa when his tour leader, Cecil Covington, catches wind of the sighting of a rare and beautiful antelope on the volatile border between Namibia and Angola.
Despite the looming threat of war between the two countries, and hoping to secure a measure of fame, Cecil decides to reroute the group in pursuit of this never-before-photographed creature.
Walker, along with his four fellow travelers and their African driver, embarks on an increasingly perilous journey, confronted by the harsh realities of nature and the profound societal changes sweeping through Africa.