Cambridge professor Horace Holly and his ward Leo undertake a journey to the underbelly of Africa and discover a lost kingdom inhabited by a savage clan. They narrowly escape death and Holly is taken to meet the supernatural Queen, 'She' who must be obeyed who turns out to be half human and half mirage a scintillating contradiction in terms. Lethal and yet irresistible, a youthful beauty and yet thousands of years old.