Early this century a Russian landowner invites an American colleague to hunt bear on his estate. For John Sherwood, it's the start of an incredible adventure as the bears turn out to be shape-shifting men. One of them is the landowner's brother, Maxim, and he mauls Sherwood, who subsequently becomes a shape-shifting bear himself and falls in love with Natalya, the landowner's sister. Political interest is added by Maxim being a state policeman and Natalya, a revolutionary.