After squandering his grant money, despondent and recently widowed anthropologist James Krippendorf must produce hard evidence of the existence of a heretofore undiscovered New Guinea tribe. Grass skirts, makeup, and staged rituals transform his three troubled children into the Shelmikedmu, a primitive culture whose habits enthrall scholars. But when a spiteful rival threatens to blow the whistle on Krippendorf's ruse, he gets into the act as well.
Keywords: anthropology , based-on-novel-or-book , circumcision , circumcision-ritual , college , expedition , faked-footage , family-relationships , hoax , jungle , lecture , lost-tribe , monkey , new-guinea , papua-new-guinea , professor , single-parent