On the eve of a large hunt, a teenage boy named Quentin and a Native American man named Boon travel to Memphis to retrieve whiskey for the men on the hunt. Throughout their journey, Boon tells everyone they meet about Lion, one of the hunting dogs who has more power, accuracy, and control than any of the others. Quentin recalls Boon and another man named Ad’s special relationship with Lion, and their deep admiration and love for the dog. Boon brags that Lion will be the one to finally bring down Old Ben, an elusive black bear that the hunters attempt to catch every year during his run. When the two arrive back at camp, they travel out to hunt the bear. Quentin hears the dogs bark at Old Ben, but he can’t see the chase, so after waiting for a while they travel back to camp and think that the bear has evaded them once again. Boon arrives suddenly, covered in blood with his face shredded, and holding Lion in his arms, and insists that they get a doctor for the dog right away. While Boon refuses medical aid himself and leaves to retrieve the doctor, Ad tells them that Lion found the bear and Boon rushed in to rescue him, but Lion continued to fight Old Ben until Boon finally managed to kill the bear himself. The doctor arrives and stitches Lion and Boon up, but the dog lives for only a day before he dies. Boon and the dog’s owner, Major de Spain, are devastated by the loss, and when Quentin attempts to go on another hunt with Boon, he finds the man desperate and broken in the woods.