In the heart of the California gold country, three-year-old Sarah McKensie is orphaned by a stagecoach robber and adopted and nursed by a she-wolf in this playful homage to the American tall tale.

As she matures, Sarah learns to assist her pack by contributing human tools to the hunt and, eventually, interacting with human travelers. With her best friend and pack-sister Beka at her side, Sarah becomes a local legend: the Wild Angel of the Sierras, rescuer of imperiled travelers. Her altruism is motivated by curiosity and bafflement by the settlers' inability to perceive the world around them, as well as a passion for biscuits. A kaleidoscopic cast colors her adventures, including a brief cameo by Samuel Clemens and, of course, two hiss-worthy villains: one human, one lupine.