When 13-year-old Ady gets himself into trouble in a French suburb, his father decides to send his son to live for a time under the care of his authoritarian uncle in a remote village in Burkina Faso. At first, Ady thinks he’s on a week’s vacation, only to discover that his holiday is permanent – at least, until he pays back the cash he stole from Dad. Like any teen, Ady is addicted to his smartphone and his French rap music – but limited electricity and communication soon mean he is enveloped in a culture and lifestyle that are radically different from the Western style of living that he is used to.

Eventually, Ady’s coming-of-age ordeal brings him to a place where materialism is less important than family, and his discovery of his roots allows him to cultivate a more Burkinabe sensibility. Surrounded by new sights – the gorgeous African countryside not the least of them – and ways of being, and encompassed by familial love that is far stronger than anything he felt in France, Ady remodels his European outlook with African inflections and develops the compassion that will make him a better international citizen.