The following version of the book was used to create this study guide: Paulsen, Gary. Northwind. Macmillan Publishing Group, New York, New York, 2022. Kindle AZW file.

Paulsen's novel opens with a chapter about Leif's early life. His father died before he was born, and his mother died during childbirth. Leif was raised through infancy by a kind woman. He spent his time on the docks. The reader learns more about Leif throughout the novel. By the time he was five, he was serving aboard a ship. The men on the ships were rough and brutal, and Leif was entirely at their mercy. He was sold and traded, forced to perform menial tasks aboard several ships. When the ships stopped at a port, Leif was locked away. He was treated with cruelty and saw no hope for his future. When he was 12-years-old, Leif considered jumping overboard. Sharks frequently followed the ship for the garbage that was thrown over, and Leif considered himself worth the same as that garbage. Before he could follow his plan, an old sailor known as Old Carl told him that things always change. Old Carl said that meant things might get better for Leif, though there was always the possibility things would get worse.

Leif's ship left Leif, Old Carl, a very young boy called Little Carl, and three other men to establish a fish camp. They were to catch and dry salmon that would then be used to provide food for the crew. However, the ship never returns, and the novel picks up as the men are planning to build a craft of their own and leave the camp. One night, a ship arrives near the camp. Four men row to shore. They are filthy and sick. They speak a different language meaning Leif and the others do not understand what they are saying. When the men leave, Old Carl says they have no shadows, meaning they are dying. Days later, two of the men in the fish camp fall ill. They die soon after, and the man who was tending them becomes sick and dies as well. Old Carl is already sick when he packs some things into the small dugout canoe the men built. He instructs Leif and Little Carl to leave the fish camp, travel north, and never return. He believes that traveling north will eliminate the possibility of encountering the death ship again.

Little Carl already has a fever by the time they leave the camp. Both boys are soon deathly ill. Leif lies in the bottom of the canoe for several days. During that time, a pod of whales encounters the canoe. The youngsters play with the boat until one of the adults shoves the boat onto the beach. Leif wakes there. He realizes Little Carl is dead. He struggles just to get to the sea where he washes the filth from himself. He finds a stream and drinks some, and eats some of the dried fish Old Carl put in the canoe. When he begins to regain his strength a little, he cleans Little Carl's body, then the canoe. Leif then sets out to find an island where Little Carl's body will be safe from predators. When he finds the perfect place, he builds a cairn and rests.

Over the coming days, Leif begins to learn more about the wilderness. He has a couple of dangerous encounters with bears. In each situation, he learns from his mistakes and files away knowledge for the future. He has a couple of delightful encounters with whales as well as some dangerous encounters. He almost dies in a whirlpool. Each time, he learns. He begins to observe more closely. Though Leif is faced with hardships and trials, he is thrilled with the knowledge that he is responsible for his own survival. This is a stark comparison with the years he spent aboard ships at the mercy of the brutal men. As he travels, he draws images on wood he calls his story board. Leif comes to realize that this might be the key to making a connection with his mother who continues to exist in the dream world.

Leif continues to travel, always pointing north as Old Carl instructed, until he sees icebergs and a wall of ice. Still, he paddles north until the day he finds an oar. He can tell the oar has not been in the water a long time, meaning there is likely a ship nearby. Leif knows he might someday rejoin society, but for now he avoids the possibility by turning back toward the south. He begins to make plans for his next camp, which might become the place he waits out the winter.