Two Malian teenagers, Bah and Batrou, from different backgrounds, meet at secondary school. Bah is the descendent of a great tribal chieftain. Batrous father, a provincial military governor, represents the new ruling power. The two teenagers are part of a generation that rejects the established order and challenges the society in which they live.
The only other animals in the film are a male goat (which features significantly in one scene) and a chicken (in the background of another scene); however, nothing bad happens to either.