Jacob Lansa

Jacob Lansa is an ordinary New York kid - riding his bike, fixing himself snacks after school, and anxiously awaiting letters from his father in Kenya. Then, suddenly, his mother is killed in a terrible accident. Pushed aside by his stepfather, Jacob makes an impulsive decision to set out on his own to find his father. In Africa, with minimal supplies and only his trusty mountain bike for transportation, Jacob faces wild lions, terrible grassland fires, and vicious elephant poachers.

Ever since his mother died and his father went to Brazil for a scientific expedition, 14-year-old Jacob Lansa has been staying with his grandfather in Poughkeepsie. He longs to join his father and help him set up a jaguar preserve in the rain forest, but he can't miss school. When his father invites him down over spring break, he jumps at the chance.

When Jake follows his grandfather Taw to the Hopi reservation where Taw was born, he finds trouble. The Hopi are upset about a Mexican wolf. Since there are no wolves in Arizona, some believe it's a ghost. Others want to kill it because it's hunting their livestock. Jake is sure of one thing: he must help his grandfather save the lobo. It could be the last of its kind.