In 1870, Victorian scientists capture a pygmy couple during an expedition in Central Africa. They are transported back to the United Kingdom for further study as part of research involving the theory of the evolution of man. However, the primitive outlook of the pygmies and the sophisticated methods used by the scientists, as well as the complications of adapting to a foreign environment, make their anthropological study more difficult. Ultimately, as the pygmies become more absorbed into the public, major disagreements erupt culminating in a bloody and tragic confrontation.
