An ancient Maasai legend tells of a child born holding a stone in its palm. the story is a warning, and now a baby is born holding a stone in not one but each of its tiny fists ... In 1904, the British government promised the Maasai control of their traditional lands - for so long as they shall exist as a people. Seven years later, that promise is broken, and the Maasai must choose between war with a powerful enemy and a perilous trek to the land allocated them by the government. Ole Sadera has risen from village scapegoat to leadership of his people. Now he struggles with rapid change - and his desire for another man's wife. George Coll arrives in East Africa to face impossible choices of his own. How can he stay silent in the face of betrayal? And how can he ask the woman he loves to share an uncertain future? the Maasai gather to make their historic decision ... and an Empire holds its breath.