Donny Watson, a sixteen-year-old African American boy in 1984 who was exceptional in both academics and sports, unlike his two siblings. His outstanding achievements led to an invitation to partisipate in a student exchange program at a boys' school in Nairobi, Kenya. His father, a medical doctor, and his housewife mother saw this as an opportunity for him to broaden his horizons and experience the world beyond America's borders. His mother's brother was the United States Ambassador in Kenya, which provided some comfort to his parents, knowing that a family member would be nearby if Donny needed anything.

When Donny's school offered a tour to Johannesburg, South Africa, he knew his father's feelings about the racist regime but still asked his uncle for permission to go on the tour. Unfortunately, Donny got separated from the rest of the tour group and was mistakenly identified as deceased in a police morgue. He ended up in the hands of the South African police, who didn't like black people. Given the name Umfaan, which means "boy" in the local Sotho language, Donny used it whenever asked, fearing that sharing his true identity would land him in jail again, as it did in the past.

After falling in love across the color line with a white, blonde girl, Donny's life took another unexpected turn, leading him to run away and end up in Swaziland. There, he found work as a gardener with an Indian family only to be wrongly associated with his employer's international crime ring, resulting in his arrest by Interpol and solitary confinement.

With its enthralling plot twists and heartfelt moments, this book promises to engage readers from beginning to end.