call of the ancestors

At the beginning of the story, Buck is a large, energetic, and slightly willful St. Bernard-Scotch Collie hybrid. He lives happily on Judge Miller's estate in sunny Santa Clara, California. For Buck, it's a world of comfort: he runs freely around the property, occasionally getting into mischief, and the people treat him like a member of the family. Because of his wild nature, the judge sometimes sternly reined him in, but overall, Buck's life was carefree and well-fed.

Peace is shattered by human greed and recklessness: Buck is kidnapped by dog ​​dealers. He is locked up, brutally treated, and then shipped on a cargo ship to the far North. The journey to Alaska becomes Buck's first harsh lesson: he encounters an alien, hostile environment where force and harsh rules of survival rule.

When the ship arrives in the Yukon, Buck's fate takes a new turn: he is sold to the postman Perrault and his assistant François, who are just assembling a team to deliver mail across the snowy expanses. It is then that Buck first finds himself among sled dogs and comes face to face with Spitz, a husky who has already firmly established control of the pack and immediately makes it clear he will tolerate no competition.