Binti's father is dying from AIDS, a disease that nobody in their town in Malawi dares name aloud. As Binti and her brother and sister slowly begin to understand what this means, they begin to realise too that not only is this what killed their mother, but that they could all be infected. But Binti's a fighter. She fought to become the child star in Malawi's most popular radio show and she's going to fight to overcome the fear and prejudice all around her.

When the family are split up and sent to live with various scared and cruel relatives, Binti knows that it is up to her to reunite them. But her fight to do so means coming to a new understanding not only of herself but of human nature and realising that people are not always as they seem.