Under a baobab tree, an old man tells a story to the children around him: the story of the undying friendship between Maki, a child aged 10, and Zarafa, an orphaned giraffe, who was sent as a gift from the Pasha of Egypt to the King of France, Charles X. Hassan, Prince of the Desert, is instructed by the Pasha to deliver Zarafa to France. But Maki has made up his mind to do everything in his power to stop Hassan fulfilling his mission and to bring the giraffe back to its native land – even if it means risking his life.