As soon as Seattle Detective John Kanin proposes to his girlfriend, Ruby, she disappears mysteriously. John's search for her brings him to her home town of Wolf Lake where he finds few allies and many more questions.

Miranda, the torch singer, is assaulted and raped by a wolf, and initially refuses to divulge any details of her attack. Kanin tries to persuade her to help him bring the guilty party to justice, but she explains only people "on the hill" get justice in Wolf Lake. Willard releases Ruby from her house arrest, hoping she'll marry Tyler Creed, and tells her he can't protect her and Kanin if she returns to him. Meanwhile, Sophia is accepted to the University of Florence, and Luke is upset that she may be going away. After she experiences the beginnings of a Wolfen transformation, Sophia decides to forgo the trip, much to Sheriff Donner's disappointment.

A humorous episode in which Sherman Blackstone recounts the night when the pack came together to elect a new Alpha Male to replace Willard Cates. Although it's impossible to tell how much of Sherman's tale is actually true, he claims that voting for the two candidates, Tyler Creed and Gerald Carter, resulted in a tie vote. Vivian Cates tried to persuade Matthew Donner to throw his hat into the ring, but he declined and instead nominated Vivian. This caused an outcry of protests that a woman cannot lead the pack. Luke, in fear for his life, seeks Sophia's help in an attempt to leave Wolf Lake before the new leader is elected.

Crackpot Web adventurer Arthur Van Halen, who has been chasing shape-shifting wolves for some time, traps Ruby while she's in wolfen form after escaping from Tyler and plans to expose the Wolf Lake community to his Internet audience. Meanwhile, Luke is consumed with jealousy while spying on Sophia and orders Sophia to stay away from her new boyfriend. Not aware that Ruby is being held captive, Vivian orders a kill or capture order, for fear that her being at large will endanger the community.