On an isolated mountainside in Rwanda, frightened cries cut through the early morning mist. As day broke on December 27, 1985, wildlife legend Dian Fossey was found dead by a machete attack. Fossey worked to save mountain gorillas from extinction but made dangerous enemies who may have taken her life.

Days after Dian Fossey's favorite gorilla is slaughtered, Sir David Attenborough arrives to film the gorillas, and the result is one of television's most treasured experiences with animals in the wild; later, Fossey writes “Gorillas in the Mist.”

Gorilla researcher Wayne McGuire is found guilty of Dian Fossey's murder after an inept investigation by Rwandan police. McGuire flees the country and is tried and convicted in absentia, living with the consequences of his conviction ever since.