Chapter 1 Summary

Buck is a 140-pound, 4-year-old dog living in the Santa Clara Valley of California. His life at Judge Miller's place is filled with hunting with the Judge's sons, protectively walking with the Judge's daughters, playing with the Judge's grandsons and generally watching over the entirety of the Judge's estate, the place he was born. While there are other dogs on the estate, he remains aloof from them because of his dignity, strength and size. Buck's life changes completely when news of a gold strike in the Yukon creates a market for large dogs to pull sleds over the snow and ice to the gold fields.

Buck has always been treated kindly and believes that humans know more than he does and that they have his best interests at heart. He doesn't know that Manuel, one of the Judge's gardeners, needs money to pay...