A failed effort to weaponize animals awakens their intellects. The military responds by creating death camps to exterminate infected animals. Moon Shadow, an Arctic white wolf, unites with White Claw, a polar bear king, to form Animus, the first animal republic. Tensions between mankind and the animals escalate until Hunter General Brigand and Hunter Sgt. Fowler, human emissaries, recognize Animus as a country, disband the camps, and negotiate peace. The uneasy peace is broken with the rise of Azaz, lord of the grizzly bears. Azaz attacks human settlements, considering humans an invasive species that wreaks havoc on bears and the environment. Azaz forms his own death camps for humans. A world war breaks out as animals face humans and each other to see who will become the true apex species.