When the world was new, the camel, a creature of 'scruciating idleness, said "Humph!" too often and received for all time a hump[h] from the Djinn of All Deserts.
Jamal is a little camel so he must walk, walk, walk through the desert. One day he becomes separated from his parents and his friend, the boy, but a wise falcon helps to reunite them.
In 1910, Zada the camel treks across the West Texas desert to save two baby kestrels from an approaching haboob, a mountain-sized storm. She shares stories of the adventures from her youth in Turkey to keep them calm.
Timoken and his sister, Zobayda, under the protection of a forest jinni but pursued by evil viridees, straddle the world of men and the world of enchantments, seeking a home while remaining young by drinking a potion called Alixir.
Melchior, one of the Wisemen, has the same dream night after night in which he is urged to follow a star, so he embarks on the journey with his nonchalant and wise camel, Nubia.