Alex and Kate begin their journey in the Brazilian city of Manus, which Alex is surprised to find is a bustling modern city. There, they meet three of their compatriots for the journey to come: the anthropologist Ludovic Leblanc, the English photographer Timothy Bruce, and his assistant, Joel Gonzalez. Having rarely traveled outside the United States, Alex is struck by the economic inequality among the residents of Manaus, noting “the wealth of some and the extreme poverty of others, all mixed together” (52). Alex is also interested to read in his guidebook that some tribes of native people in the area, whom he and the others refer to as Indians, lack almost all modern technology and written language. 

From Manaus, the International Geographic team sets out by boat on the Rio Negro river toward a village called Santa Maria de la Lluvia, where they will meet their Brazilian guide, César Santos. Among other passengers on the boat, they are joined by a young Venezuelan doctor named Omayra Torres, who is traveling into the jungle in order to vaccinate the Indians against diseases brought by outsiders. Along the way, the arrogant Ludovic Leblanc explains to Kate, Alex, and the rest of the group that in his experience, the Indians are cruel and brutal, ready to behave violently at any provocation.