Canis lupus is the scientific name ascribed to wolves, the physically largest subspecies of which is the arctic wolf. His supervisors placed Farley, a novice researcher employed by the Canadian government, in charge of The Lupine Project and tasked with studying the environmental impact of wolves on caribou. Farley suggests throughout the narrative that governmental officials intended the project to justify their planned extermination of the arctic wolf at the behest of hunters and trappers who perceived the wolves as their business competitors.

Caribou are a large subspecies of reindeer native to the arctic regions of the earth. While herds in different regions have distinct behavior patterns, the largest extant caribou herd migrates annually from the northernmost mountains, through the barren tundra, and into the forest areas south. For centuries, these vast herds have provided a food source both for the Indigenous Inuit and also for arctic wolves. There are varying estimates for the number of extant caribou throughout Canada.

The Barrens, or Barren Grounds or Barrenlands, are a vast swath of subarctic tundra covering 20% of the Canadian land mass. For the most part unpopulated, the Barrens are treeless and so lacking in vegetation that large herbivores pass through only to migrate.