[1] After their son Luke leaves for college, Kate Conrad, a former veterinarian, surprises her husband Drew with a second honeymoon to Zambia.

Drew confesses that he is no longer in love with her and was waiting for their son to go to college before ending the marriage.

On New Year's Eve, Kate calls Jonathan, and he relays that the sanctuary cannot continue operating much longer due to the cut in funding.

Kate begins a fundraising campaign by asking for help from her friends and ex-husband, and also sells her jewelry and other things.

After visits from pampered pets, Kate realizes her job as a vet in New York is not fulfilling her, so she sells her apartment then buys a one-way ticket to Zambia to be with Derek and the elephants.

When the day comes to release Manu back to the wild with other elephants, Derek and Kate tearfully say goodbye.

Huge efforts and systems were in place to safeguard the elephants, including a focused behavior study, personnel and distance restrictions, and international animal welfare inspectors.

Due to GRI's strict elephant management protocols and minimal impact policies, and in alignment with Netflix's high animal welfare standards, it became apparent that a body double would be required for the majority of filming, and Netflix invested hugely in ensuring that the puppets required were the spitting image of the real-life orphaned elephant Mkaliva.⁣⁣ Mkaliva was rescued by GRI and the Department of National Parks & Wildlife in Zambia in August 2017.

Her story closely aligns with that portrayed in the film, as both elephants experienced the same physical and emotional traumas when losing their mothers and herd.