A covert government agency dupes a team of research scientists into believing they are testing a drug designed to tame violent behavior of adolescent humans. When the behaviors of the bonobo test subjects take an unexpected turn, the research team is dispatched to the Congo Basin on the pretext of extending the research into wild bonobo populations. Trish, the resolute leader of the research team, soon discovers troubling evidence that she and her co-workers are pawns in a deadly game that escalates with each unexpected turn of events. As the research scientists track their escaped bonobo subjects and a tribe of wild bonobos deep into the jungle, they are isolated and hunted by their paramilitary custodians. The ultimate confrontation between adversaries is orchestrated by the government to take place at ancient ruins in the heart of the Congo Basin where an indigenous tribe of Pygmies, a tribe of bonobos, the government assailants, the leaders of a cult of pantheists, and the research scientists converge in a deadly encounter. The novel's characters are both believable and colorful. Tom, Trish's security guard having a penchant for beer and important sounding business cards, is manipulated into turning on his co-workers. Sandy, a young sexy assistant to the scientists' medical doctor, beds with the enemy then reveals surprising moral character in the face of escalating adversity. Chief, the grandfatherly leader of the government's armed antagonists accepts but regrets the violence he and his crew must execute. The most loveable characters are the bonobos who speak for themselves throughout the adventure.