This story brings you the transformation of an innocent kid working for a newspaper company, into a meat eating, full bearded man. Christopher (Smoke) Bellew, a newspaperman, embarks on a journey into the rough Alaskan wilderness, only planning to help out his relatives and be present for a few weeks. But this challenge brings in a new prospective of life, instead of writing about these times, live them. He chooses to stay in the Klondike himself and continue on this new found way of life. Life, death, and love are three major themes of the novel, three of which Smoke has never experienced for himself. Jack London brings to life not only the unbearable surroundings, but the life one must live. You feel inside the story, as if you know Smoke and his companions.