The skeleton of an unknown and apparently unclassifiable very large hominid is unearthed in Brazil and smuggled back to England, where it is forensically examined by a senior government pathologist. By a coincidence, a few months later trappers engaged by a zoo on an animal conservation programme in Sumatra, encounter a huge manlike creature which can communicate with them. Clandestinely, one of the party manages to film and audio-tape the creature, which warns them not to try to entrap animals or it will destroy their stockade. It claims to be a protector of all life-forms. News of the alleged beast leaks out, despite attempts by various authorities to ridicule its existence. Many regard it as a hoax until irrefutable evidence is finally produced, when it becomes an almost godlike figurehead for a burgeoning environmental movement but is likewise regarded as an enemy of international business and commerce due to its uncompromising message of protecting the environment. Efforts are made by some to capture or even kill the being, whilst others, bewitched by their encounters with it, strive to protect both it and its message. Its name is Myamahatu.