The Sahara is the largest desert on the planet - almost as big as the United States - with the highest recorded temperature in the world of 136� Fahrenheit. This vast sea of sand and volcanic rock is one of the most inhospitable places on earth. Adam Illius, a nine-year old boy from the Tuareg village of Timia in Niger is about to begin a journey that will change his life. He is about to walk into the heart of the desert with his family's caravan of camels, across some of the cruelest terrain in search of a prize once said to be as valuable as gold. The trip will be fraught with peril: scorpions, snakes, heat stroke, and dehydration. A fall or a kick from an angry camel could prove fatal. Even reaching the salt mines will not guarantee success.
