The novel was translated into English by Peter Green and was made into a film starring William Holden in 1962.

Ouriounga, a teenage Maasai, who wishes to marry Patricia, decides to prove his worth by killing a lion to gain her respect, as is custom in his tribe.

Patricia's father shoots King in order to protect Ouriounga from certain death.

With her idealistic view of the African savanna crushed, Patricia finally gives in to everyone's demands and leaves with the narrator to attend a boarding school in Nairobi.

[2] Irene and Louis Kamp adapted the novel for the screenplay of a 1962 movie of the same title starring William Holden, Trevor Howard, Capucine, and the young Pamela Franklin as Tina (Patricia of the novel).