Xan is a white South African ten-year-old. His father finds a cheetah cub on a reserve. Xan calls it Duma and raises it on his family's ranch. When his father dies, Xan and his mother have to move to the city. But Xan doesn't like his new life and runs away back to the savannah with Duma. He will have to cross South Africa on his father's motorcycle with cheetah in the sidecar to take him home. On the way, Xan learns that while a lot can change, our deepest feelings always remain the same.
