The story starts in '80s-era Timbuktu, when bookseller, historian, and librarian Abdel Kader Haidara received an order to search for and rescue tens of thousands of lost ancient manuscripts. He is derailed from this formidable task when, in 2012, thousands of Al Qaeda militants take control of Mali. After sharia law is imposed and calls for the destruction of historical manuscripts, Haidara must organize a dangerous clandestine operation to smuggle 300,00 manuscripts out of the occupied city.