After failing the rescue attempt of a raccoon in the Himalayas (a parody of the opening to the film Cliffhanger), Ace Ventura undergoes an emotional breakdown and goes on a personal soul-searching quest by becoming a Tibetan monk. He is approached by Fulton Greenwall, a British correspondent working for a provincial consulate in the fictional African country of Nibia. Being that Ace's influence is disruptive to the monastery, the Grand Abbot eagerly gives Ace excuses by which to justify his departure.

Greenwall asks Ventura to find a sacred animal of the Wachati tribe called Shikaka, which disappeared shortly after being offered as a wedding dowry from the Wachati Princess, who is set to wed the Wachootoo Prince, thus resulting in Brotherhood between the two rival groups. Shikaka, which is a great white bat, is a sacred animal for the Wachati and Wachootoo tribes of Nibia; whenever its very name is spoken, the tribesmen must bow. Accompanied by his capuchin monkey, Spike, Ace travels to Africa and returns to his pet detective work.

After arriving in Nibia and meeting with the head of the consulate, Vincent Cadby, Ace begins learning about his case as well as the possible suspects. Ace, normally an animal lover, must overcome his fear of bats in order to continue studying the case. He travels to the Wachati tribal village, where he learns that if the bat is not returned in time, the Wachootoo will declare war on the Wachati tribe, as they believe Shikaka's disappearance to be a curse on them all. Much of Ace's activity involves eliminating various obvious suspects--illegal animal traders, poachers, even a Safari Park owner and enduring the problems of dealing with the growing escalations between the Wachati and the Wachootoo, the latter having dubbed him as the "white devil". This proves difficult, and is made more so by other incidents including attempts to kill him, and the Wachati princess' attempts to seduce him....