Gates embarks on an epic journey through Egypt and Sudan in search of ancient Nubia - an ancient African civilization which once rivaled Egypt.
Gates travels along the palm-fringed coast of Kenya and Tanzania and on to the legendary island of Zanzibar.
Gates travels through the old kingdoms of Asante and Dahomey in modern Ghana and Benin to unravel the real story of the slave trade.
Gates' journey takes him to the rock-hewn churches, mountain monasteries and royal shrines; and on to Aksum, birthplace of an ancient civilization, and home, the Ethiopians believe, to the Lost Ark of the Covenant.
Gates journeys through modern Mali, following ancient trade routes from the goldmines of the south to the legendary city in the shores of the Sahara desert, in search if the forgotten libraries of Timbuktu.
Gates explores a thousand-year-old African city kept from public view for seventy years, sings karaoke with Afrikaner holiday-makers, and heads for the medieval stone citadel of Great Zimbabwe.