Kirra is sent to stay with Gus in his run-down amusement park in Cape Town after her father was hospitalized for six weeks. Upon arrival, Kirra is met at the airport by Mansa, one of her grandpa's employees. Kirra is initially unhappy about leaving her father, but she eventually makes friends with a boy named Sifiso.
The film begins in November 20, 1969, 50 miles off Soviet waters. When the USS Acushnet dives under the ice, a young Ahab listens for enemy subs when suddenly he detects an unknown target. When the captain listens, he hears nothing, but Ahab insists in the presence of an emptiness. The target dives into a trench, but the captain abandons his search in favor of photographing the target. The target attacks the submarine as Ahab hears a roar. The sub is brought to the icy surface, and the target identifies itself as a gigantic, white, whale-like creature. Ahab survives, but loses his leg to the beast when it hauls the other half of the sub back underwater.