Early winter storms catch the homestead unprepared; Otto's wife and their youngest son search for a newborn calf and its mother in a snowstorm while Otto builds a shelter for the herd.

The first storm of winter approaches as the family races to finish preparing for the next eight months; Atz herds cattle across flooded glacial rivers.

A hunting trip becomes a necessity after a bear kills two cattle on the homestead in the opener of the series following the Kilcher family in a remote community outside of Homer, Alaska.