Azaro is a spirit-child, called an abiku, in a remote village in Africa. Since his birth, he has seen visions of spirits who beckon him into their world, but he always refuses because he loves his family and wishes to remain with them. When he was very young, he was carried away by spirits and awoke in his own coffin, his parents having thought he had died because his spirit left his body to pursue the other spirits. His parents couldn't afford the costly ceremony which would free him from this gift, but he learns to control it better. As time goes on, he interacts with the spirits as a sort of clairvoyant, even saving his family from a fire one time.
Because they are poor, Azaro's family lives in a ghetto. His father is a somewhat unrealistic man, spending extravagant money on unnecessary parties, pursuing hobbies, and sometimes getting drunk. Although he is a loving father, sometimes he gets drunk and beats Azaro because the boy is often getting into trouble for following spirits around and upsetting people. In fact the landlord, charges his family more than any of his other tenants because he considers them troublemakers.
Azaro spends much of his time in Madame Koto's bar. She's an enterprising woman who continually updates her place in order to appeal to more and more wealthy clients, eventually aligning herself entirely with the political party of the rich. The rest of the village despises these people who once sent a van into the village to distribute food which turned out to be tainted and effectively poisoned everyone. At great personal risk, a man named Jeremiah photographs the van which the villagers set up as a monument. When the rich learn about the photo, they force Jeremiah into hiding. He stays with Azaro's family for some time.
One day Azaro's father decides to become a professional boxer. Always prone to violence, he realized that he just enjoys fighting. He trains obsessively; meanwhile his family slips into debt. Helping his father, Azaro has many encounters with spirits who wrestle with his father. He scares them all off, but not before his dad suffers some serious injuries. Around the village, he becomes known as the Black Tyger. In an epic fight, he defeats the legendary Green Leopard, but spends several days in a coma afterward.
One final fight is planned in front of the entire village, including the wealthy citizens, but the opponent cheats. Azaro's family, relying upon a bet that his father will win, finds a man in the crowd who keeps interfering with his father. After the distraction is removed, Black Tyger fights valiantly, defeating his opponent. He pulls off the man in the white suit's mask to reveal a ghostly, inhuman countenance which scares the entire crowd. In dreams for three days afterwards, Azaro's father continues to fight evil spirits. When he awakens, there is a new peace in the house. Azaro feels the spirits at rest finally.
