The following version of the book was used to create this study guide: Mayer, Shannon. Golden (The Golden Wolf, Book 1). Hijinks Ink Publishing. 2022. Kindle AZW file.

NOTE: The breed of dog, Golden Retriever, appears with lower-case letters as "golden retriever" throughout the novel and this guide.

Cinniuint, better known as Cin, is a wolf shifter who is betrayed by her pack after she refuses to sexually submit to the alpha male, her half-brother Richard. She is shot with a silver bullet and thrown into a river. She washes up on a shore miles away, scaring a woman who was in the process of throwing a kitten in the river to drown. The cat, later named Martin, summoned help. Ten years later, Cin has settled into a good life in Skagway, Alaska. She has two roommates who are also shifters, but they are not particularly close. She lives in a home owned by a vampire named Grant and works at the next door bookstore alongside a ghoul named Denna. One day, two of Cin's regular customers arrive with what one considers exciting news about a young man in town who is incredibly handsome. When the man arrives at the bookstore, Cin is horrified to discover that the man is Shipley, her brother. After a tense confrontation, Shipley leaves. Cin knows her peaceful life in Skagway is over.

Cin sets out with Martin in a cat carrier and Denna as her passenger on her motorcycle. She is surprised later when she encounters her roommates and they offer to leave the country with her. Cin is working as a bartender and killing time until the departure date when she encounters a wolf with an enormous sexual pull over her. She also sees a young woman, later identified as Soleil. She recognizes a dramatic situation unfolding, but she is not sure what is happening. Cin drops everything when she receives a frantic call from her younger sister Meghan. Cin rushes in for what she believes will be a rescue mission but discovers Meghan's distress is a set up. Cin is captured and finds that a witch named Petunia was seeking revenge against Juniper, Cin's mother. Juniper had slept with Petunia's husband, a warlock who remains unnamed throughout the novel. Petunia believes that punishing Juniper's child will be a harsher punishment than punishing Juniper herself. Though Cin knows that is not true, she wakes in an animal shelter in Venice Beach in the form of a golden retriever.

Cin meets a cat named Bebe who is also one of Petunia's victims. Together, they begin to plan how they will escape the animal shelter. When a man named Han enters in search of a dog, Cin is shocked to find a mating bond between them. Han seems reluctant, but he takes Cin who manages to help Bebe escape with them. Han then sets out in search of a woman named Soleil, calling on Cin to help him. They encounter Han's brother Havoc, a man Cin believes to be a monster. Eventually, Cin discovers that Han is also a monster, though he is handsome and sexually attractive. Cin finds a witch she believes is going to help her escape the golden retriever form, but she discovers it is the warlock who takes Cin's voice in return for giving her each night in her human form. Cin is still able to communicate with Bebe and is relieved when Denna catches up with them.

With a curse in place that is going to end Cin's life in a matter of days, she sets out to save a young human women named Soleil – only because she knows both Han and Havoc have some inexplicable interest in Soleil. Soleil tricks Cin, drawing her into a dramatic plan that is going to bring an end to the world while changing Han into a god. The only thing that stands between Han and that plan is Cin, but she has to survive the curse in order to stop him. The warlock reveals that he had hoped Cin would capture Han's attention and love would keep him from destroying the world. Since that plan has already failed, the warlock points Cin to Havoc, a mysterious member of a royal family. Her curse will be broken if they have sex, and the novel ends with Havoc agreeing to that plan.