Eleven-year-old Thabo wants to become a private detective like in the movies. If only his home, the small African village of Hlatikulu, was not the most peaceful savannah paradise. But things take a sudden turn when a rhino is murdered in the neighboring safari park because of its precious horn.

August, a troubled young orphan, finds an abandoned ostrich egg and raises a giant, bird-brained best friend. When his ostrich is taken away, August risks everything to get him back.