Nii, a young boy from the West Coast of Africa, stows away on a ship bound for America, land of dreams. When he is thrown overboard to the sharks he is protected by a mysterious rainbow fish until he washes ashore on the South Coast of the Zulu Kingdom. After an initial misunderstanding over language and culture, Nii is accepted into the cattle herding community. He teaches these people to fish because 'sea never dry'. In turn, they teach him about cows because 'cattle is wealth'. When Nii has to go home, Tofi, the little girl who saved him, fights for his return. She is compelled to go on a pulsating search for the magical rainbow fish, and has to dance in fire.