A nameless baby elephant-steer is just getting used to life in the herd, when poachers (referred as "takers" by the elephants) separate him from his mother, Gentle Heart (thought to be killed by them), so he runs and gets lost. He's found by a grouchy female named Groove, the sister of an alpha-female named Half Tusk, who walks off disgusted with life in her herd. Not exactly wholehearted, she still takes the orphan under her wing, 'till we find your herd', but fails to find his herd, or a new home with bulls (males) -who find him disrespectful and mouthy- or her own herd, who nickname the kid Whispers since his trumpeting is so weak. Meanwhile the fear for poachers and lions drives them north over the great river, a long and dangerous journey. Groove manages to save Whispers from a pride