World-traveling documentary filmmakers Nigel and Marianne Thornberry have come to Africa with their family--precocious Eliza, rebellious Debbie and adopted wild child Donnie--to record a miraculous event. Once every few hundred years, as the moon obscures the sun, native legend has it that thousands of elephants emerge from the safety of the forest to watch the solar eclipse. But this time, as they stand exposed in this wide-open Congo valley, they will be in grave danger. Evil poachers Sloan and Bree Blackburn plan to ambush the elephants for their rare ivory tusks. One day, Eliza and her chimpanzee friend Darwin meet a mysterious shaman who grants her the power to talk to animals. But there's one catch--if she reveals her gift she will lose it forever. When Eliza discovers that the poachers are planning to attack the elephant herd, she and Darwin must devise a plan to stop them. But what can one freckle-faced 12-year-old with pigtails and braces do against this type of evil? How will Eliza be able to warn the elephants if she loses her gift of communicating with animals?