"The Call of the Wild" is the classic 1903 adventure story by Jack London. The novel is set in Yukon, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The central character of the novel is a dog named "Buck". The story opens at a Californian ranch, when Buck is stolen from his home and sold into service as an Alaskan sled dog. The story, which was enormously popular at the time of publication, is a tale of survival and return to primitivism.