In the mid-2010s, Detroit experienced an urban flight the likes of which the United States had never seen before. At its worst, in some neighborhoods, over eighty percent of the buildings lay vacant, the only inhabitants being thousands upon thousands of stray dogs. Without humans, these abandoned house pets were left to fight and scrape and hunt and fend for themselves in the apocalyptic urban hellscape that is post-blight Detroit.

Scout, a loyal and loving pet dog, is abandoned when his family flees foreclosure. For the first time in his life finding himself unable to rely on humans, Scout is forced to venture into the wilds. He quickly learns that self-reliance is far more challenging, freeing, terrifying, and dangerous than he ever could have imagined. Exposure, uninviting humans, rival dog packs, and wild animals make every day a battle to shed his domesticity and find the will to survive.