Prologue Summary and Analysis

Mark and Delia drift off in their sleeping bags late at night when they could no longer hear the rustle of the Blue Pride they are tracking. They wake to see one of the large females at the foot of their bags. She walks by and joins the rest of the pride who is slumbering a short distance away. In 1974, Mark and Delia sold everything they owned and delayed finishing their doctorate degrees to make the expedition to the Kalahari. Their mission is to study the lion and brown hyena in their natural habitats. They are fortunate that the remote location they chose within the Kalahari was so untouched by humans and so the animals generally do not fear them. The story they tell is of that seven-year long journey of knowledge, understanding and love.