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Intro
In 1974, the Allbright family— made up of Ernt, Cora, and Leni—move from Seattle to Kaneq, Alaska. Ernt, the family patriarch, is a Vietnam veteran who is mentally disturbed after returning from the war. He is gifted land in Alaska by Bo Harlan, a former friend whom he watched die after they were captured and tortured together. The Allbrights hope Alaska will be good for Ernt, who is disgruntled by the current state of the country. However, when the Allbrights arrive in Alaska, they discover they are woefully unprepared for survival there. They make friends with the Harlans—Bo’s relatives—and Marge Birdsall, their neighbor who also runs the local trading post and helps them get settled. Once they settle in, Leni begins attending school, where she meets Matthew Walker, the only person her age in Kaneq. The two become fast friends and Matthew invites Leni to a community party his father is throwing. That night, the Allbrights attend the party, and Ernt immediately clashes with Tom Walker, Matthew’s father. Tom is rich and Ernt finds him to be condescending. Although Ernt doesn’t make a scene, Leni and Matthew hear him talking about his dislike of Tom. Despite her father’s harsh words, Leni and Matthew remain close friends. However, they are forced apart after Matthew’s mother, Geneva, falls through ice and dies. After Geneva’s funeral, Matthew goes to live in Fairbanks, Alaska where he can live a normal life and see a therapist. Leni is sad to see her friend go, but the two continue to write letters to one another.
In the meantime, Leni, Cora, and Ernt learn to live in Alaska. Ernt teaches his wife and daughter how to shoot and fish, and other members of the Kaneq community teach the family how to garden and save food for the winter. Though Ernt initially feels better in Kaneq, his rage begins to grow. He spends a lot of time with Earl Harlan, Bo’s father. Together, the two drink heavily and complain about the downfall of civilization. Both are convinced that a war will erupt soon, and people will come to take their land. Nearly everyone else thinks their claims are ridiculous but find the men themselves to be concerning. The day of Geneva’s funeral, Ernt is in a particularly nasty mood and when the Allbrights arrive home, he drags Cora inside and hits her twice in the face in front of Leni. Leni always knew that her parents argued, but this is the first time she witnesses physical abuse.
One night, Ernt gets angry and heads off into town to drink. While he is away, wolves come and kill the Allbrights’ livestock. In the morning, Leni and Cora hike into town, worried that the scent of blood will attract bears. When they arrive in town, they find their van at the local saloon and see Tom Walker, who is concerned about their safety. Quickly, he realizes what’s happened and goes to confront Ernt, despite Cora’s protests. As the two men argue, Ernt makes a nasty comment about Geneva’s death, so Tom drags him outside and throws him in his van, infuriating Ernt. When he arrives home, Ernt locks Leni out of the cabin and brutally abuses Cora. When Leni is allowed back inside, she grabs some emergency items and tells Cora that they are leaving Ernt. Their escape attempt results in Cora swerving off the road to avoid a bull moose and ending up in the hospital. A few days later, Tom and Marge show up at the Allbright cabin and tell Ernt that he will go work on a pipeline in the winter while Marge keeps Cora and Leni safe.
Four years go by and the Allbright home is relatively calm. However, in the winter of 1978, Ernt comes home early from his job on the pipeline because he is fired for drinking. Shortly after, Tom calls everyone to town for a meeting, where he tells them he is renovating the bar and opening a boarding house for tourists. This angers Ernt, who wants things to stay the way they are, and that night he vandalizes the saloon. Around the same time, Matthew returns to Kaneq to live with his father. Matthew and Leni begin seeing each other secretly, knowing Ernt won’t approve of their relationship. One day, while Ernt is away, Matthew and Leni have sex for the first time and profess their love to one another.
As tensions continue to rise in Kaneq, Earl suddenly dies. At his funeral, Ernt makes a scene and Thelma, Earl’s daughter, tells him that he is not welcome on the Harlan property anymore. As a result, Ernt begins to build a barricade around his property so that no one can get in or out without his permission. This frightens Leni and Cora, who decide that they need to escape for good. One day, the Allbrights go to town for supplies. While there, Leni sees Matthew and yells, “Help!” Enraged, Ernt drives home and begins abusing Cora. However, Ernt forgets to lock his gate, allowing Matthew to come in and punch Ernt in the face. While Ernt recovers, Matthew takes Cora to Marge’s and Leni to the mountains where Ernt cannot get to her. On their way down from the mountains, Leni falls into a ravine and Matthew attempts to rescue her. Unfortunately, Matthew falls and seriously injures himself. Days later, a helicopter comes to rescue Matthew and Leni. Leni ends up being fine, but Matthew has serious brain damage and ends up in a coma.
When Leni arrives home from the hospital, she discovers her mother failed to press charges against Ernt and he is already back in their cabin. Angry at Ernt because of what happened to Matthew, Leni refuses to speak to him from that point forward. Every day, Leni checks on Matthew, though no significant progress is made. He still cannot communicate beyond grunts and screams. In addition, Leni learns she is pregnant with Matthew’s child. Leni plans to keep this information between herself and Cora, but then blurts it out at her father in a fit of rage. Angered by what he’s learned, Ernt begins abusing Leni. In response, Cora shoots Ernt and kills him. Not wanting her mother to go to jail, Leni helps Cora hide Ernt’s body. Together, the two of them escape Alaska and head to Seattle, where Cora’s parents take them in and help them obtain false identities. Several months later, Leni has her baby and names him MJ, Matthew Junior.
Several more years pass and soon 1986 arrives. In that time, Leni manages to go to college and graduate with a degree in visual arts while raising her son. Soon after Leni’s graduation, Cora finds out that she has lung cancer. After months of chemotherapy, she dies and leaves Leni with a signed confession for Ernt’s murder. Leni returns to Alaska, hoping to clear her name and reunite with Matthew, but ends up in jail. Luckily, Tom makes a call to the governor and manages to get her charges dropped. Afterward, Leni reunites with Matthew, who has begun to recover. Although Matthew has difficulty remembering the past and expressing himself, he soon recognizes Leni and is overjoyed to learn that he has a son. Leni and Matthew revive their relationship and eventually have two more children: Cora and Kenai. Additionally, Leni gathers the Kaneq community together to perform a funeral service for Cora. She is touched that so many people attend and thinks Cora would be, too. Years later, Leni is interviewed by a newspaper because she has become a famous photographer. In the interview, Leni talks about her love for the wildness of Alaskan life.
