The story takes place in Yukon Territory, Canada, during the Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the 19th-century, and details a wild wolfdog's journey to domestication.

Much of the novel is written from the view-point of his canine character, enabling London to explore how animals view their world and how they view humans.

White Fang examines the violent world of wild animals and the equally violent world of humans.

The book also explores complex themes including morality and redemption.

Jack London was the most successful writer in America in the early twentieth century.

He advocates Socialism and Darwinism in his works. His stories of men and women struggling for survival against the overwhelming power of nature are drawn mostly from his own life.

His experiences at sea and during the Klondike gold-rush inspired his best-known works The Sea-Wolf, The Call of the Wild, and White Fang.