Wolf

On a Vermont country road, Will Randall runs over a large black wolf and is bitten while attempting to help it. The bite triggers an awakening in him as his vitality increases and his senses sharpen, signaling the start of a transformation. He returns home unsettled, not yet fully aware of what is changing inside him.

A few days after the bite, tycoon Raymond Alden announces he is taking over Will's publishing house. Will accepts a demotion and Stewart Swinton is installed as editor, reshaping the power dynamics of the company. The move sets the stage for Will's escalating personal and professional conflict.

Will encounters Laura Alden, Alden's headstrong daughter, and is drawn to her. The budding connection occurs as Will's enhanced vitality hints at the changes he's undergoing. The encounter places Laura at the center of Will's emerging conflicts.

Will, now sensing his heightened abilities, suspects that Charlotte and Swinton are having an affair after noticing Swinton's scent on Charlotte's clothing. The suspicion foreshadows a dangerous entanglement in the Randall household. The tension deepens Will's paranoia and jealousy.

Will confronts Charlotte and Swinton in Swinton's apartment, exposing the affair and losing his temper. He bites Swinton's hand in a fierce display before storming out and leaving Charlotte behind. The violent act marks Will's transition from ally to threat.

Will begins a relationship with Laura and spends the night at the Aldens' villa after suffering a fainting spell. He awakens transformed and mauls a deer in the estate park, waking up covered in blood. The night crystallizes his new dual life as predator and lover.

Will visits pagan expert Dr. Vijav Alezais, who explains that he is transforming into a wolf. The doctor gives Will an amulet intended to prevent the transformation's completion. The amulet becomes a symbol of control against the animal self.

That same night, during another transformation, Will breaks into a zoo, steals handcuffs from a police officer, and viciously attacks a group of muggers. He wakes later in his hotel bed with no memory of the events. The wild episode illustrates the loss of control accompanying his changes.

Will orchestrates a mutiny of writers threatening to walk unless he remains editor-in-chief. Alden agrees, and Will's first act is to fire Stewart. He urinates on his shoes in the bathroom, claiming he is 'marking his territory' in a provocative demonstration of power.

Will cuffs himself to his hotel room radiator to contain himself, then Laura arrives and eases his fears. They spend the night together, but Will leaves the hotel room unnoticed and roams Central Park transformed. The city becomes a backdrop for his double life.

The next morning Detective Bridger informs Will that Charlotte was found dead in Central Park with canine DNA on her. The evidence confirms his fears and shifts the danger outward toward Laura. The revelation catalyzes the next conflicts.

That evening, Laura locks Will in a horse stable and heads to the police to give a statement. Inside the estate, Swinton behaves brutishly and sports golden eyes, hinting at his own cursed nature. The chase escalates toward a physical confrontation.

Swinton invades the estate, kills two guards, and attempts to rape Laura. Will discards the amulet and fights Swinton, ruthlessly mauling him. Laura finishes Swinton with a gun as Will, still half-human, takes a final, uneasy moment with Laura before vanishing.

Will, now fully a wolf in spirit if not in form, disappears into the New England woods after a brief moment with Laura. Laura, awakening to a new perceptiveness, watches as Will's animal call echoes through the trees and her eyes begin to change in response to the transformation.