The story opens with Kwasi (Amari’s younger brother) climbing a coconut tree to look a giraffe in the eye. From the height, he sees Besa coming their way. Besa catches up with Amari to ask her how her day was, and the two exchange affectionate words with each other. Besa can’t stay long, however, because he has “seen strangers in the forest…[that] have the skin color of goat’s milk.” (4) When Amari tells her mother of the strangers that Besa saw, her mother says, “we must welcome our guests, then, Amari. We would never judge people simply by how they looked—that would be uncivilized…Let us prepare for a celebration.” The elders of the town, including Amari’s father, make preparations for their guests.

As the newcomers arrive in their community (Ziavi, Ghana) “everyone in the village came out of their houses to see the astonishing sight—pale, unhealthy-looking men who carried large bundles and unusual-looking sticks as they marched into the centre of the village. In spite of the welcoming greetings and looks of excitement on the faces of the villagers, the strangers did not smile. They smelled of danger” (7). Amir describes one of the strange men as having “eyes the color of the sky,” and it makes her shudder (7).