For ten years Kamuti, a wise old leopard, has reigned over two square miles of prime hunting ground in the Luangwa Valley. She's held her own against the lions who steal her kills and survived to be thirteen years old, one of the oldest leopards in the African bush. But she's not as quick as she used to be - life is getting tougher. And now she's about to face the most serious challenge of her life. A younger, fitter and stronger female leopard is after her territory and is prepared to fight her for it. This will be a battle of age and experience versus youth and vitality.

The Nsefu pride of lions has six new cubs, a few weeks old, feeding and playing together. One is a little smaller, and holds back, a misfit. He's perhaps the runt of the litter, and his chances of survival are low. Yet when he becomes separated from the rest of the pride, it is his shy character that saves his life. Alone and scared he wanders through the night, calling out for his mother. In an amazing turn of events, his mother, knowing the danger that surrounds him, responds to his calls. The instinctive love of her cub is triggered, and she comes to the rescue. She suckles him, yet he still can't keep up, and faces one final reverse of fortune....