Within a few months of moving to an American military base in the Philippines, thirteen-year-old Zack Stewart faces the challenge of his life. Soon after a classmate gives him a wooden rice god, he discovers the idol was stolen from a tribe of headhunters, by a crooked American exporter. Determined to retrieve the valuable artifact, the man sends his henchmen to steal it from Zack. When all attempts fail, the exporter follows Zack to a final confrontation revealing the true secret of the rice god.