In an ancient world an orphan boy in sheep-farming country tames a wolf. The two become outcasts, fleeing to a foreign country. Powerful figures determine their fortunes: a holy crone, a demonic bandit, a ruthless baron fleeing a paranoid king. All travel down a great river till ill-luck blocks their journey. Then tensions build to a violent climax. Peterkin and the First Dog is a young adult alternative history novel, set in a parallel world in the time of the first empires.