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Basa is a guard dog who protects her human family. However, when invading soldiers attack their village and kill her owners, Basa is left to fend for herself. She learns to survive, eventually mates with a wolf, and starts her own family. She teaches her pups how to hunt and survive in the harsh habitat they make their own. Each of her pups has a different personality, and they grow into the names Basa gives them as they become hunters. They face many dangers and squabble amongst themselves but eventually learn how to work together to take down the land's biggest prey. Also, they discover that the biggest threat is not starvation or the other animal predators but the humans with whom they inevitably clash.
Jakab's book is an adventure story reminiscent of Jack London's tales, although they take place in different parts of the world. Jakab picks events important to the dogs' development and survival to focus on in his work. He writes exciting battles and sets up the dogs' dangerous situations well. His naturalist style means that the youngest readers may find the realities too harsh. Thus, the book may be better situated for middle-grade readers. Basa and the pups are likable protagonists, although none of the dogs monopolize the spotlight as the attention is divided almost equally among them through short episodes. Younger readers interested in the natural world and who feel Jack London's works are a little too heavy or literary may find this book to be a welcome compromise in adventure fiction.