Scott is an international dealer in Asian and Tribal Art with galleries in London and Paris. He and Kate Lundy set off for Borneo in search of valuable ethnic art and the heirlooms of the tribal peoples living in the longhouses in the mountainous regions of Sarawak. They make a startling discovery and a scientific expedition sets out to explore the traces of human ancestors deep in the rainforests of Borneo. Scott's research leads him into an adventure in the history of human origins, criss-crossing the planet in search of explanations, as a wave of violence wracks Indonesia caught up in the throes of an insurrectional crisis.