During the Kenyan struggle for independence from the British in the late 1950's, a scientific safari led by Ernest Hemingway undertakes the ascent of Mount Kenya. Hemingway has been warned by Kikuyu tribe members not to violate the sacred laws of Mwene-Nyaga, the mountain's god, by harming the elephants which ascend its peaks because it will lead to self-destruction, as any aggression against against nature is an act of suicide. The expeditions consists of the author, Alex Smith, British police commissioner, Renata, the photographer and Hemingway's lover, Antonio, Hemingway's godson, a Spanish biologist and frustrated bullfighter, Kamau, a Kikuyu tribe member who secretly fights for Kenya's independence with the Mau-Mau rebels. The expedition's progress is impeded as political and personal forces collide and Hemingway comes face-to-face with his final destiny in facing the decision to shoot the Sacred Mammoth who roams the highest peaks of Mount Kenya.