The Marquis d’Arville recounts to his dinner companions why he has refused to go hunting although his ancestors were fanatical about the sport. For his ancestors, Jean and François, hunting was ''the only thing they spoke of and lived for.'' One day, they heard reports of an enormous wolf that was terrorizing the locals, preying on livestock, injuring guard-dogs, wounding a woman and devouring two children. As a result, the brothers resolve to find and kill the beast. It proved difficult. One day while returning to their château, the two men's horses suddenly became startled when the wolf leaps from a bush, speeding off through the woods. They set off in pursuit, but during the chase Jean is killed by a blow from an overhanging branch. With his brother's corpse across the saddle of his own horse, François starts back towards the château. Then the wolf appears....