The lodge opens for the fall season and Bob May and Ernie Holland find a whale carcass on the beach that attracts a swarm of bears. Back at camp, Robert May trains brothers Troy and Kyle Holland on what it takes to be a bear guide in Kodiak Island, Alaska.
Bob May and Ernie Holland get their client up close and personal with a Kodiak bear, but things take a turn for the worst when the bear decides to charge. Then, Bob Cusack and his daughters, Nicole and Marisa, arrive at the lodge, and Nicole asks Rob May to guide her first deer hunt.
Bob May and Ernie Holland must split up their teams as two new hunters arrive. Meanwhile, Rob May faces the reality that his father is getting older and must decide if he's going to follow in his footsteps and take over the family business.
Bear season is over and with Troy and Kyle Holland's guide futures on the line, they must take on one final, dangerous test to determine if they can graduate from apprentice status. Back at camp, the tasks of winterizing and bear-proofing the lodge are interrupted with heated discussions about the apprentice guides' fates.