Kay is a girl living in a small rural town whose life is just too dull and repetitious to bear. One night, she meets young, handsome, and rich Bob Dakin, who asks her for directions while drunk and then proceeds to take her out on a night on the town. Kay likes the stranger, and when the drunken Bob decides that they should get married, Kay hesitates little before consenting. The morning after the affair, Bob, once sober, regrets his mistake. His strict and upright parents, however, insist that the young couple pretend marriage for 6 months before divorcing, in order to avoid bad publicity. Bob resents Kay for standing in the way of him and his fiancée, Priscilla, but Kay still hopes that he'd have a change of heart.

巴克是一只骨骼壮硕身材强壮的狗，本来在大法官家里过着养尊处优的生活的它，被园丁偷走，卖到了严寒的阿拉斯加，成为了雪橇犬。巴克坎坷的命运并没有就此终结，之后，它又辗转经历了好几个主人，他们残暴而又冷酷的对待巴克。不仅如此，巴克在狗群中也为了保住自己的地位而经历了巨大的挑战。
这一次，约翰（克拉克·盖博 Clark Gable 饰）成为了巴克的新主人，幸运的是，约翰是一个善良的男人，他不仅非常温柔的对待巴克，还治好了它伤痕累累的身体。随着时间的推移，一人一狗之间产生了坚实的友谊。然而，在一场意外中，巴克被印第安人杀死了，愤怒的巴克失去了理智，它要为自己的主人报仇。