The following version of this book was used to create the guide: McKenzie, Elizabeth. The Dog of the North. Penguin Random House LLC, 2023.

Elizabeth McKenzie's novel The Dog of the North is written from the main character Penny Rush's first person point of view. The novel is presented in the past tense, and with the exception of intermittent flashbacks, follows a primarily linear timeline. The following summary employs a similar approach to form.

After 35-year-old Penny Rush discovered that her husband Sherman had cheated on her, she decided to leave her home in Santa Cruz, California altogether. After confronting Sherman, she quit her receptionist job, sold her car, and boarded a train to Santa Barbara where her grandparents Arlo and Pincer lived.

On the train, Penny felt transported into scenes from her past. Riding the train felt reminiscent of taking drives with her mother Ardie and stepfather Hugh. Although she was close with them, after Ardie, Hugh, and their daughter, Penny's half sister Margaret, moved to Brisbane, Australia, Penny began to distance herself from them. Because she was not Hugh's biological daughter, she worried she was an accessory to their otherwise idyllic family unit.

Five years prior to the narrative present, Ardie and Hugh disappeared while out on a trip to Mount Isa. Although the investigation was not closed, Penny felt disinterested in learning the truth. Furthermore, she had largely ignored the tragedy in order to spare herself the associated pain.

At the Santa Barbara train station, Pincer's accountant Burt collected Penny. Although the two had never met in person, they spoke on the phone regularly. Burt was in control of Pincer's financial affairs. However, he also gave Penny regular updates on her grandmother's condition.

Penny and Burt made a plan to help Pincer. Because Pincer had been reluctant to interventions in the past, they would have to be careful. The following day, they would sneak into Pincer's house, find and confiscate her gun, which she often wielded at innocent parties, and do their best to tidy the interior space. Pincer had been exhibiting signs of dementia for some time, but thus far the family had proved incapable of helping her.

Shortly after Penny and Burt arrived at Pincer's, Burt collapsed. A former doctor, Pincer insisted Burt needed an ambulance. Shortly thereafter, she accompanied Burt to the hospital.

When Penny later visited Burt in the hospital, she met Burt's brother Dale. That evening, Penny and Dale met for dinner. Dale updated Penny on Burt's condition and his mental health history. He also informed her that Burt wanted her to have his van, named The Dog of the North, should anything happen to him.

Although Penny did her best to help Pincer, she felt increasingly overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Arlo was urging her to take a trip to Australia with him. Unwilling to give up on Ardie and Hugh's case, he wanted to visit Mount Isa himself. To escape her troubles in Santa Barbara, Penny decided to accept Arlo's invitation to Brisbane.

Over the course of her time in Australia with Arlo, Penny gradually learned how to face her fears and confront her trauma. She not only reconnected with her sister, but traveled to Mount Isa. With Arlo's encouragement, she took the first steps towards healing.

After learning of new troubles with Pincer and Burt, Penny flew back to the States. Shortly after arriving, she learned from Dale that Burt had died of medical complications. Although devastated, the two took comfort in one another. Their first experience together was a trip to Carlsbad Caverns in Burt's van.