Twenty-five-year-old twins, Zack and Zoe Elliott, have grown up in San Diego, never knowing their father. Only after their mother's death, do they discover a clue: A love-letter mailed from Australia before they were born. The writer, a man named William, says he will be sailing to Mozambique. Zoe, ever cautious, thinks investigating would be an expensive waste of time. But Zack, in his usual dive-in-the-deep-end style, flies to Mozambique to hunt for his father. When he mails Zoe an air ticket, she relents and follows. And so begins their search through a beautiful and primitive land half a world away from everyone and everything familiar to them. They befriend Nic Cavanaugh, a British photographer who introduces them to Kristof, a South African adventurer. Along the way, they cross paths with a deaf, black child, an English couple teaching sustainable agriculture, and a self-proclaimed prophet. Cynical and anxious, Zoe had fought this trip. but now she feels herself mellowing. She's started to adjust to a slower tempo, as Africa seeps like a seductive drumbeat into her psyche. Whether or not their hunt is successful, this trip will change their lives forever in ways neither of them could ever have predicted.