Wolves - Short Synopsis
A
group of monks are fleeing through a dark forest: behind them their monastery
is in flames. They are fearful when they hear wolves in the forest near them,
but are calmed by the assurances of the oldest monk, who bids them to follow
the wolves to sanctuary.
Many years later, Ben Maguire, aged eleven, meets a strange old man in Kilrowan,
a dense and brooding forest that stretches from the shores of a broad lake far
into the high mountains. The stranger identifies himself as the Steward of the
Forest, and tells Ben the turbulent history of the place, and of the local saint,
Anselm. This chance meeting leads Ben to become passionate about Kilrowan, and
when the forest is sold to a development corporation and a plan submitted to
turn the area into a vast theme park, Ben and his friend Luke spearhead the
fight to save the forest. They are largely unsuccessful and things look hopeless
until - with the help of the Steward and his wolves, who mysteriously reappear
- they find a valuable ancient artifact in a huge cavern far underneath the
forest floor. While they are searching, the Steward reveals his true identity
to Ben and tells him of the trauma he suffered in the Great War that caused
him to flee into the forest. In the course of the search, the cavern collapses
and the Steward disappears once again.
Before Ben and Luke can use the treasure to buy out the development firm, the
state claims it for the nation. A government hearing follows and Ben is forced
to tell the story of how he found the torc. He is widely disbelieved until his
story is corroborated by the engineer supervising the development work, who
has become sympathetic to Ben's cause. It transpires also that the development
company has been allowed to cut corners, with the active encouragement of a
crooked local councilor. Despite this, the treasure is judged to be the property
of the state and the development, although delayed, is allowed to continue.
Ben and Luke go back to Kilrowan where they meet the Steward, now returned to
normal life.
Shortly before Ben returns to school, he visits Kilrowan to say goodbye to Luke
and the Steward. Heavy rain has slowed development but Ben can see that the
forest is slowly falling. As the boys walk in the rain they are confronted by
a pack of wolves, who force them up to higher ground. There they see that the
collapse of the cavern underneath the forest, coupled with the heavy rain, has
caused a huge part of the forest to subside, and they watch as the development
area is completely and irreversibly flooded by the lake.
The story ends in the past, with the monks finding sanctuary in the forest.
The oldest monk converses with the younger man, Anselm, and together they conclude
that Kilrowan and its wolves will always be able to take care of itself and
its inhabitants. Audience/Readership/Theme This is a rather old-fashioned story
aimed at young adults. It addresses the themes of childhood and friendship and
has a strong ecological focus. The main storyline focuses on the attempts of
two friends to save a beautiful forest from being ruined by building development.
It includes a sub-plot, a story of two of the older characters' lives.