A 10-part dramatization of the life of the great Zulu warrior (1787-1828) whose military innovations helped build a nation he ruled through tyranny. In Part 1, the British send an emissary to Shaka, hoping to intimidate him into an alliance and cancel the threat to their colony at Cape Town.

Fynn chronicles the love affair between Shaka's parents, Prince Senzangakona and Elangeni maiden Nandi, and the divine prophecy for their illegitimate child.