Jack London’s The Call of the Wild follows Buck, a powerful domestic dog stolen from his comfortable home in California and sold as a sled dog during the Klondike Gold Rush. Transported north, he encounters violence, hunger and severe weather, learning the rules of survival among both dogs and people. His strength and instincts develop as he adapts to the demands of life in the wilderness.

Buck eventually comes under the care of John Thornton, with whom he forms a strong bond. At the same time, he becomes increasingly drawn to the surrounding forest and to the wolves he hears in the distance. After Thornton is killed, Buck leaves human society behind and joins a wolf pack. The novel explores adaptation, loyalty, power and the tension between civilisation and instinct, using Buck’s transformation to examine survival in an unforgiving environment.