In the harsh expanse of the isolated Canadian wilderness, Joseph Mersault (Devon Sawa) and his family, including his wife Anne (Camille Sullivan) and their daughter Renee (Summer H. Howell), struggle to survive as fur trappers. As Joseph teaches Renee the intricate skills of baiting and trapping, Anne diligently manages their home, handling chores such as laundry and gathering water. Their peaceful existence is shattered when a predatory wolf starts to threaten their traps and livelihood. Despite Anne's passionate objections, Joseph is determined to pursue the animal and eliminate this new danger.
Taking the opportunity to bond, Renee accompanies her father on a grueling expedition to track the wolf, during which Joseph discovers fresh tracks. He sends Renee back for her safety, opting to confront the wolf alone. This choice leads him to a chilling find: a group of young women, brutally murdered and arranged in a haunting circle.
Upon returning home, Joseph chooses to withhold this nightmarish revelation from Anne, instead fabricating a story about a wolf that escaped his aim. The following day, he embarks on what he claims is another hunt, but his true intention is now to track the mysterious killer.
As days drag on without any sign of Joseph, Anne's worry intensifies, prompting her to report the vicious wolf to local law enforcement officers Barthes (Gabriel Daniels) and Lucy (Lauren Cochrane). To her dismay, they dismiss her fears, referencing the natural predatory balance in nature. Compounding her distress, they inform her that since their cabin lies on federal land, reporting the wolf would lead to bureaucratic complications, a thought that frightens Anne, who fears the potential loss of her home.
With supplies running low, Anne is compelled to undertake desperate measures, leading her to kill a baby deer, which deeply troubles Renee. In a twist of fate, Renee steps up to guide Anne on how to effectively skin the creature, a task Joseph had always managed.
One ominous night, strange noises echo from the woods, drawing Renee's attention. While investigating, Anne finds a wounded stranger, Lou (Nick Stahl), who had been injured by a wolf while capturing photographs. She takes him back to their cabin, unwittingly igniting a series of events that will drastically change their lives.
Meanwhile, Officer Barthes, growing more suspicious of Anne and Renee’s activities, embarks on his own investigation, only to encounter a gruesome scene mirroring Joseph's earlier discovery. His search is abruptly interrupted when he suffers an accident with one of Joseph's traps, leaving him incapacitated.
In a turn of events, Anne leaves Lou and Renee alone to foray for food, successfully catching a rabbit but stumbling upon Joseph's cold body, a harrowing sign that Lou was indeed responsible for his death. Filled with urgency, Anne rushes back, only to be violently assaulted by Lou, who knocks her out.
When Anne awakens, she finds herself at the mercy of Lou, who is driven by a twisted obsession as he attempts to overpower her while indulging in the sounds of music from his old walkman. In a moment of cunning, Anne manages to grab an animal trap, successfully using it to ensnare Lou's face, coaxing a scream from him even as she grieves for Renee.
As their fates intertwine, Officer Barthes, despite losing a significant amount of blood, manages to signal for help by firing his weapon. Although assistance arrives too late to save him, they become horrified witnesses to the grisly scene of the women's remains.
Anne, fueled by vengeance, takes it upon herself to exact a brutal retribution on Lou, binding him and preparing to skin him alive. As she methodically removes his flesh, she drowns out his agonizing cries with the blaring music from his walkman.
The police are drawn to the fire ignited by Lou's actions, which leads them back to the cabin. There, they find Anne exiting the dwelling, holding Lou's skinned face, which she carelessly tosses aside. As she settles onto her porch, she turns off the walkman, just as the police surround her, weapons drawn in a nerve-wracking standoff that shatters the tense narrative.
