When Ben Tomlins mother brings home his new baby brother, an
eight-day-old chimpanzee, Ben is far from thrilled. His father, a
renowned behavioral scientist, has uprooted the family and moved
them halfway across the country, to Victoria, B.C., so he can
pursue a high-profile experiment to determine whether chimpanzees
can learn human sign language.
Zan must be raised exactly like a human. Hes dressed in clothes
and fed in a high chair and has a room full of toys and books. Ben
is soon smitten. Joining the team of students who are helping with
the experiment, Ben becomes both researcher and adored older
brother.
Within months, Zan learns his first signs and becomes a media
sensation. At his new school, Bens life seems similarly charmed as
he vies for the attentions of the beautiful Jennifer using his
newly acquired scientific observational skills.
But when Project Zan unexpectedly loses its funding, Bens
father is under huge pressure to either make the experiment succeed
or abandon itand Zan. Unable to convince his father that Zan is
now part of the family, Ben must risk everything to save his baby
brother from an unimaginable fate.