After her mother dies in Europe, 14-year-old Grace (Camille Summers) returns to Africa to see her father, Gary (Julian Sands), a geologist who's taken the exploitation of Africa's resources to heart. Grace and her dad have barely a day to get reacquainted before he flies off in a tiny plane to ferry urgent supplies.

When he begins his return flight, he's whipped off course, crashes in sand dunes, and then he's taken prisoner by black guerrillas who are also diamond poachers.

While search parties wait out bad weather, intrepid Grace sobers family friend Kadjiro (Eriq Ebouaney) from a drunken stupor to guide her through the merciless desert to find her father.