Transferred from the narcotics to lead a search on the traffic of threatened species, a policeman realises this investigation of a new type will not be a simple one: the wildlife trade mafia has nothing to envy to the drug mafia.

SYNOPSIS:

The biggest three international traffics (weapons, drugs, human beings) are fought by special units from the police forces. But what about the fourth largest worldwide illegal trade? The one that concerns ivory, horns, scales and other products taken from wild animals. That traffic is not fought by anyone but wildlife aficionados, experts in their fields. Which is like giving the narcotics to pharmacists, or making sure the military weapons trade is controlled by engineers…

But all of this is about to change! Indeed, the French Government, eager to show the way, created a “wildlife police force” designed to counter-attack the spread of wildlife trafficking within France. PAUL, an experienced policeman from narcotics, was chosen to lead this investigation. That being said, Paul couldn’t care less about the illegal wildlife trade. In narcotics, Paul knows he saves lives. This transfer to the wildlife police force is quite far from being a promotion. He finds the motivation in the promise of becoming a police captain if his investigation is a success. And a promotion means a better chance for him to win the judicial fight against his ex-wife and thus to obtain the custody of his daughters.

Paul’s team is composed of specialists who, unlike him, are entirely dedicated to wildlife conservation: TIPHAINE, an antispeciesist vegan custom officer, and CHRIS, a bon vivant Afrikaner who has participated in animal trafficking investigations throughout the globe. RUBEN, the curator of the Zoo of Paris, is a Rastaman, passionate about wild animals, but he abhors working for the police (Babylon). He changes his mind when his children discover with horror the lifeless body of a slaughtered rhinoceros at the zoo, hornless.

The investigation progresses and, arrests after arrests, the team unearths a wide and complex network that spreads well beyond the French borders. Paul and Chris then go to Cameroon to participate in the arrest of a big international wildlife trader. In Africa, Paul realises the great negative impact of the illegal wildlife trade, not only for animals but also for People. And between the murder attempts and the discovery of a rampant corruption implicating Cameroonian and French authorities, Paul has no other ambition than to continue to dig in. When he is asked to go back to narcotics with a promotion, he faces a dilemma: between his daughters and his new fight, what will he choose?