A young woman, Dr Graciela Saddiq, arrives to work at a zoo in a city soon to be at war. Of all the animals, she is particularly interested in a silverback mountain gorilla named Einstein. Quickly she finds what makes this gorilla unique: he can communicate with humans using sign language.

Each evening as darkness falls and the zoo empties of people, Einstein tells her his story as well as those of other animals he has known. But war is looming, and as the bombing of the city begins, Dr Saddiq realises that that both their lives are in terrible danger ...