Terry Bowen begins searching for his missing hunter-father in India. Two teenagers, an American boy who refuses to believe his father was killed on a hunting expedition, and an Indian lad whose pet is an elephant called "Maya," travel around the countryside in India, seeking vicarious adventures. 

Terry and Raji meet with a setback when they try to tame a wild boy raised by tigers. Maya, forced to kill a tigress, must now contend with the boy's determined efforts to take revenge.