When an enormous wildfire devastates Yellowstone National Park, Pope and his family are forced to flee. Heading north along the Rockies, his mother and brother die from distemper, leaving Pope in isolation. Desperate to find a way to survive, he ventures into the unfamiliar world of humans and is captured by dog breeders. In captivity, he meets Bill, and a wolfdog, Hume. Though they don't share a common communication, the three escape the kennel and venture into the wild, learning to depend on one another for survival and building a sense of communality ? without which, they would each surely die. Facing the challenges of finding and hunting for food, and coping with a dramatically altered ecosystem, Pope, Bill, and Hume organize an unlikely makeshift pack, and learn to trust each other. But when a wildfire separates the three and they encounter a real wolf pack, Pope must decide if the unexpected pack he's created is worth killing for, or if he must ultimately honor the wild primal beast within.