Against all odds, Wambu escapes Kitoe-but he is forced to leave behind Sirja, his sister Mawi, and the other captive children of his village. Determined to rescue them, Wambu sets out to find the white man Sirja once spoke of. But reaching him will mean outrunning deadly pursuers, braving the unforgiving jungle, and confronting the shadows of his superstitious past. Hunted by enemies, tormented by spirits, and weakened by malaria, Wambu stumbles upon his old village, now overrun by the jungle. There, injured and alone, he is unexpectedly rescued by the last surviving adult of his tribe: the renegade Hassewiets, former archfoe of the ruthless Sendivar. Together, they embark on a final, perilous journey-a desperate attempt to reach the white man before it's too late.