When a moose is found on a portion of desolate African coastline, numerous people race to either help or hinder his plight. Befriended by a young local boy who vows to be the moose's friend and protector, the pair set off on an accidental adventure across the African wilderness. Along the way they befriend and/or evade such colorful characters as a rouge television news helicopter pilot, an eccentric, blood-thirsty billionaire, a brilliant mathematician-turned-pirate captain, a pair of opportunistic exotic medicine dealers, a disguised professional baseball player and his duped wife, and an assortment of concerned passengers and crew aboard an ill-fated cruise ship. Through a great deal of misunderstanding and mistiming, the fate of the poor moose is fought for on a stretch of seashore mistakenly referred to as The Gelatin Coast.