"Brothers of the Wilderness" is a family adventure that looks for the gold in people's hearts. A young family splitting apart takes a cross-country trip and their small son becomes separated from them in the mountains by a near-tragic traffic accident. He is befriended by a large "dog" - the wolf, Mara - who belongs to an old prospector with more than enough gold, but a hole in his heart: literally, and for the family he lost years earlier. The old man sets out to find the boy's parents, but his gold attracts the attention of two greenhorn prospectors, Bernie & Len. When the old man dies of a heart attack, leaving the boy alone once again - and with a map to his gold - the boy goes off alone to look for his parents. Only the wolf-dog Mara stands between the boy and the two greedy men.