In August 1982 four boys aged between eight and fourteen and a beautiful fourteen-year-old girl share an old tin boat on Lake Baringo in Kenya. For a while it seems that nothing can spoil their fun or disturb the peace of the beautiful lake. But further afield there are rumblings of discontent against the President of Kenya. When these erupt into a coup attempt the children are caught up in the ensuing violence. A series of life threatening events test them all to the limit, and lead them into an adventure with a terryfying and thrilling climax. Through the help given them by the people of the local Njemps tribe they discover how generous people with very little can be, and the oldest boy William learns that it is possible to care more about somebody else than about himself.