Ekené is a thirteen-year-old boy living in Ketembe Village in Sierra Leone. His life is simple and quiet as he craves to be considered a man and contribute to the important happenings of the village. However, when civil war comes to Sierra Leone, his village is invaded by revolutionaries, and he is swept up into the conflict. Ekené is taken away to be a child soldier and ends up being a forced laborer in a diamond mine. Throughout his journey, he accumulates responsibility for other child soldiers as he seeks a way to return home.