Living in the oldest desert in the world, the OvaHimba face extinction, unless their ageing chief can raise his grandson to become their next leader and save the tribe.
The OvaHimba of the Namib Desert are descendants of the Ancient Egyptians from the era of Queen Nefertiti, and was once the richest nomadic tribe in Africa. Now, however, they find themselves on the brink of extinction. Trapped in the 1904 Herero-Nama war, they settled in the godforsaken wastes of Kaokoland after fleeing genocide at the hands of the German army and marauding Nama gangs. Having grown weary of the name 'OvaHimba', which means 'beggars', reigning Chief Nguzu believes their only hope for survival lies in the hands of his grandson, Omusuverua [the protagonist].
This is the story of Omusuverua Muharukua, a member of the OvaHimba tribe of Kaokoland in northern Namibia. His grandfather, Chief Nguzu, is the first to notice a smouldering fire within the young Omusu, and decides to send him to school, where he learns English, grows in faith and, at a nearby army camp, comes into contact with the mystical art of karate.
Chief Nguzu has a clear strategy to assure the tribe's future. He envisages Omusu as the next leader of the OvaHimba - a leader who will save their tribe from extinction. Having failed to fulfil the role of redeemer himself, Chief Nguzu has suffered from guilt throughout his life. His peace-loving tribe had fled into the Namib nearly a century before, after suffering constant attacks by marauding Nama gangs in southern Angola. Now struggling to survive in a barren wasteland, Nguzu hopes that Omusu will lead his people to become the proud and prosperous tribe they once were.
Omusu is forced into confrontation with the customs of his tribe when his best friend is killed by an evil man named Omurue [the antagonist]. Omusu questions the fairness of the tribe's traditional judicial system, and is subsequently banished from his village. Alone, but determined, he sets off on a journey across the desert to the capital, Windhoek, where he attains a black belt in karate from a leading martial arts school. His natural talent and exceptionally fast reflexes soon earns him the opportunity of a lifetime - to join the Kaokoland karate team in a tournament against the current world champions, the USA.
