Buck, a large four-year-old dog, goes about his life on a sunny estate in the Santa Clara Valley. Unbeknownst to Buck, the discovery of gold in the Arctic has caused a rise in the demand for strong dogs to pull sleds. Buck, however, isn’t subjected to that harsh life. He rules over his owner’s large property. There are other dogs, but none of them are as sturdy and strong: “Among the terriers he stalked imperiously, and Toots and Ysabel he utterly ignored, for he was king—king over all the creeping, crawling, flying things of Judge Miller’s place, humans included” (1). Buck hunts and swims and is proud and self-aggrandizing about his kingly position on the estate.

One night, Manuel, one of the gardener’s farmhands, takes Buck for a walk. Buck trusts Manuel, but he doesn’t know the man has a gambling problem. A stranger waits for them at the edge of the property. The two men exchange money and Buck is leashed with a rope. Manuel passes the rope to the stranger, putting Buck under the stranger’s control, which infuriates Buck. Buck lashes out, but the stranger chokes and subdues him. Buck, weakened, is thrown into a baggage car and taken away from his home.