Martine Allen becomes an orphan on her 11th birthday, and her parents’ tragic deaths compel her to move across the world and start a new life on her grandmother’s game preserve and animal sanctuary in Cape Town, South Africa. Martine has never met her grandmother, Gwyn, and is intimidated by her cold and often forbidding manner. During this life change, Martine also embarks on a journey of self-discovery as she learns who she is apart from her family and her old life in England. When she learns that she holds the gift of healing animals by laying on hands, this revelation becomes a catalyst for her personal growth as she learns to overcome her fears and trust her intuition in her quest to protect the animals of the preserve, particularly Jemmy, the elusive white giraffe she befriends. Throughout the story, Martine evolves from a lonely orphan to a brave, compassionate young woman, and in the process, she acts boldly to uncover the mystery of what happened to her grandfather and who is behind the poaching ring stalking Sawubona for the white giraffe.

Although Martine’s story evokes Coming of Age in the Wake of Tragic Personal Loss, through her time at Sawubona, she also experiences the restorative power of nature.