Ama is a child of the water: she was born ele­ven years ago on the ship to Rotterdam, and now she is pre­pa­ring for a swim­ming com­pe­ti­ti­on with her best fri­end Thijs. Her par­ents are from Senegal, but Ama feels Dutch. But she is not allo­wed to give her address any­whe­re and is not sup­po­sed to talk to the poli­ce under any cir­cum­s­tances. When her family’s accom­mo­da­ti­on is final­ly dis­co­ver­ed, Ama’s mother and litt­le brot­her are to be depor­ted. Ama hap­pens to be away from home and sets out to find her father. She is hel­ped by Thijs, some chan­ce acquain­tances — and a giant por­cu­pi­ne that seems to be fol­lo­wing her. The poli­ce, howe­ver, are loo­king for her, espe­ci­al­ly Thijs’s mother. (RW)