Vusi, an eleven-year-old Zulu boy growing up in poverty in rural KwaZulu-Natal, is enchanted by the helpless puppy he finds in the bush and adopts as his own. He names it Gillette for its razor-sharp teeth and hides it from his mother, who disapproves of a bush dog as a pet. His devotion to Gillette only grows stronger after the puppy is mauled by a leopard and loses a leg. While Vusi and Gillette learn to hunt together, they meet the daughter of a neighbouring white farmer. Gillette becomes the catalyst for their unlikely friendship, which has a decisive impact on the fate of Vusi's whole family - and the larger community.