Back in Canada after an exile of over 20 years in Africa, Norbert a one time hood and revolutionist now turned humanitarian wishes only to return to Africa. Stuck amidst the red tape bureaucrats of Canadian immigration, he hopes to find exile by way of cargo boat. Before his departure he meets a young delinquent boy, named Christopher, who insists that Norbert finds a refuge for the Capuchin monkey he must abandon before taking his trip back home. Christopher convinces Norbert to place Trotsky, the monkey, at the local zoo and then drop him off at his mother's home near Quebec City, where Norbert will take the cargo boat that left without him back in Montreal.