Wolf Totem is an epic Chinese tale that vividly depicts the dying culture of the Mongols—the ancestors of the Mongol hordes who once terrorized the world—and the parallel extinction of the animal they hold sacred: the fierce and otherworldly Mongolian wolf.

Set in 1960s China, during the time of the Great Leap Forward and on the eve of the Cultural Revolution, Beijing intellectual Chen Zhen travels to the pristine grasslands of Inner Mongolia. There, he lives among the nomadic Mongols—a proud, brave, and ancient race who coexist in perfect harmony with their beautiful but cruel natural surroundings. Their philosophy of maintaining a balance with nature forms the cornerstone of their religion, a kind of cult of the wolf.

The fierce wolves of the steppes, in their endless search for food, are locked in a spiritual battle for survival with the nomads—a life-and-death dance that has persisted for thousands of years. The Mongols view the wolf as a worthy foe, one they are divinely instructed to contend with, worship, and learn from. Chen's encounters with these otherworldly wolves awaken a latent primitive instinct in him, leading to fascination, obsession, and ultimately, reverence.

This fragile balance is shattered with the arrival of Chen's kinfolk, the Han Chinese, who are sent from the cities to bring modernity to the grasslands. Their campaign to exterminate the wolves disrupts the meticulously maintained balance, leading to a spiral of extinction—first the wolves, then the Mongol culture, and finally the land itself. As a result, rats become a plague, and wild sheep overgraze until the meadows turn to dust, causing Mongolian dust storms to glide over Beijing, sometimes even blotting out the moon.

Wolf Totem is a stinging social commentary on the dangers of China's overaccelerated economic growth and offers a fascinating immersion into the heart of Chinese culture.