Peace is declared in Korea, and Captain Parnell Peasley resigns his commission in the U.S. Army and boards a train in Bangor, Maine, for Howe Brook Village, a wilderness settlement that grew up along the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad in T8-R4 on the shore of the St. Croix Lake. Parnell likes the hermetic lifestyle at the village and decides to remain, even after the buildings are removed and everyone else has left. His best friend, John Corriveau, instructs Parnell in the delicate art of poaching and how to avoid apprehension by the local game warden, Ian Randall. As the outside world begins to creep towards Howe Brook and Parnell's backyard, a few hunting opportunists see this new wilderness as their own playground. Parnell resents this new intrusion, particularly when someone poaches in his domain. He sets the stage for apprehension by Ian Randall and then absconds with the illegal spoils. Parnell acquires a learned respect and admiration for Ian Randall and agrees that it has -been a Great Game.