In a post-ice age Alaska, an indigenous tribe believes that all creatures are created through the Great Spirits, who appear in the form of a dawn. A trio of brothers return to their tribe so that the youngest receives his totem, a stone pendant in the shape of an animal that represents a virtue he must achieve to become a man. After being attacked by a bear, the oldest sacrifices himself to save the other two, so the youngest blames the bear for his brother's death and goes on a journey of revenge, chasing the animal and killing it, as punishment, the Great Spirits transform him into a bear. Now an animal, the bear must go on a journey alongside a cub that has become separated from its mother, while being hunted by his brother, who believes he was killed by the bear.
