When he was a boy, Luc's mother would warn him about the "mock men" living in the trees by their home - chimpanzees whose cries would fill the night. Luc is older now, his mother gone. He lives in a house of mistreated orphans, barely getting by. Then a man calling himself Prof comes to town with a mysterious mission. When Luc tries to rob him, the man isn't mad. Instead, he offers Luc a job. Together, Luc and Prof head into the rough, dangerous jungle...

Before humans, and before human history, there were the apes. Snub is a young gorilla, living in the heart of what will eventually be known as Africa. She is jealous of her mother's new baby . . . and restless in her need to explore. When a natural disaster shakes up her family, Snub finds herself as the guardian of her young sibling . . . and lost in a reshaped world. Snub may feel orphaned, but she is not alone. There are other creatures stalking...