Chased mercilessly by ruthless hunters, the only thing that prevents this rare breed of lions from extinction is their own cunning and perhaps a wildlife warrior not yet born.

Hunted through the eons for nothing more than sport and a misguided sense of prestige, the Barbary lions of North Africa have reached a precarious tipping point. Only a bizarre series of events spanning a century can perhaps save these magnificent animals.

An English aristocrat and a rich American industrialist are doing their best to hurtle this species to a long and lasting oblivion. From two separate hunting safaris, these landed gentry do their part, attempting to wipe these beautiful big cats off the face of the earth.

But in a rare show of humility a set of cubs and a wounded lioness are separately shipped to a sanctuary in the United States. But will these acts save the breed or sentence them to a sure extinction?