A screen adaptation of an adventure novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz. An epic film, shot in colourful, African locations, which remains faithful to the book.
An Englishman Rawlison and a Pole Tarkowski work at the construction site of the Suez Canal. Both are widowers, raising their kids: an eight-year-old Nel and a fourteen-year-old Staś. A national uprising against the Englishmen is underway in Sudan. The engineers’ kids are kidnapped and taken to Khartoum. A search begins, however a sand storm stands in the way. The faithful dog Saba finds their trail, finds the children and stays with them till the end of their travel. A Greek Kaliopuli arranges a meeting of Staś and Mahdi, who stands at the helm of the uprising. During the meeting Staś is very courageous, which impresses Mahdi. He orders to give the children over to Smain. While travelling through a rock gorge, the caravan is attacked by a lion. The kidnappers give Staś a rifle, because he is a good shooter. Staś kills the lion and the kidnappers. After that the children are accompanied by two black people: Kali and Mea. They encounter plenty of dangers along the way; in particular wild animals pose a serious threat. At some point they get a new companion – an elephant saved from dying of starvation. The animal proves very useful. The rainy season is coming. Staś organizes a camp with a safe shelter in a huge baobab. Nel comes down with malaria. Desperate Staś finds a camp of a dying traveller Linde and manages to get a stack of quinine and ammunition. The geographer gives him hints how to get back home. Nel gets better and they set off. The road gets more and more difficult. They run out of water. When they see silhouettes of people in the horizon, Staś – on his last legs – fires a flare. Eventually, the kids manage to get back to their fathers.
