Suddenly driven from their African home by a war in Biafra, the McCall family washes up in a small town in the San Joaquin Valley. The locals assume they must be glad to be back in the "civilized world." But life in America is lonely, desolate and dull, and the children and their  fragile mother hope that one day they will return to the life they left behind. Their father, a hardened oil man, knows better: war has destroyed any home they may have had. As the truth begins to sink in, mother and children gravitate toward another refugee from war-torn Africa and his dream. Anatole imagines an African animal park on the dry plains surrounding their California town and offers hope that these two worlds can be brought together in one place.
Rollo is tired of humans. Their cities are dirty, and their gizmos are dumb. He knows mankind is wrecking the planet. Rollo’s dream is to escape to the Sierra Nevada Mountains where he can live alone and be free of other people. There’s just one problem with his scheme: Rollo’s hungry human stomach. No matter how much food he carries in his backpack, he always runs out. Inevitably, Rollo has to come back to the “messed-up, man-made world” or starve. All this changes when Rollo finds an old, dusty, bear suit in a costume shop. He’s got a plan! But what seems like the perfect solution at first will bring unexpected results and change Rollo’s life forever—in ways he could never have imagined.