V knigu voshli dva rannikh sbornika rasskazov Dzheka Londona â€" «Syn Volka» (1900) i «Bog ego ottcov» (1901), povestvuiushchikh ob amerikanskom Severe, ob uvlekatelnykh stranstviiakh i riskovannykh prikliucheniiakh, kotorye dovelos perezhit avtoru â€" a zatem i ego geroiam â€" v severnykh zemliakh, o pritiagatelnoi i opasnoi krasote etogo surovogo kraia. Sever Dzheka Londona â€" eto mir silnykh, volevykh, tceleustremlennykh muzhchin i smelykh, reshitelnykh, samootverzhennykh zhenshchin; mir, v kotorom vykovyvaiutsia kharaktery i lomaiutsia sudby; mir oslepitelnoi belizny snegov i oslepliaiushchei rassudok zolotoi likhoradki; mir, gde chelovek i priroda vnov i vnov ispytyvaiut drug druga na prochnost i gde kak liudiam, tak i zveriam odnazhdy neizbezhno dovoditsia uslyshat idushchii iz glubiny ikh estestva zov predkov…