Elspeth (Holly Aird) and her unconventional parents decide to settle down in Kenya and begin a coffee plantation. This is a time of discovery for Elspeth, as she encounters the incredible beauty and cruelty of nature, and new friendships with Africans and British expatriates. A side plot involves the beautiful and bored British Lettice Palmer (Sharon Maughan), who enters into an affair with a handsome safari guide. Eventually, however, the excitement of Elspeth's life is disrupted by the on-set of World War I, and the changes it brings.
