When a coyote steals one of his collie's pups to raise, a shepherd boy learns that wild creatures must follow their instincts.

A wise old shepherd teaches a young boy lessons about survival, bravery, wisdom, and friendship as he shows him how to take care of a flock of sheep in the harsh Mojave Desert.

"In the wink of an eye, as quick as a flea, / The Devil he jumped from me to thee. / And only when the Devil had gone, / Did I know that he and I'd been one ... Every autumn, John Pentecost returns to the farm where he grew up, to help gather the sheep down from the moors for the winter. Very little changes in the Endlands, but this year, his grandfather--the Gaffer--has died and John's new wife, Katherine, is accompanying him for the first time....