With another brutal winter approaching, and bears having killed two of the family’s cattle, they are forced to pin all of their hopes of surviving the winter on one last hunting trip.

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.

The early winter storms have left the entire homestead unprepared. A desperate search for a newborn calf and its mother forces Otto's wife and their youngest son into a night snowstorm while Otto is away building shelter for his herd.

The extended Kilcher family struggle to get through a record-breaking harsh winter. Desperate for food, Atz Lee and Jane venture into the brutal elements in search of food, hoping that ice fishing and hunting will supply their needs. Patriarchs Otto and Atz embark on a dangerous mission to bring aid to a fellow homesteader.

Spring finally arrives on the homestead. Atz Lee enlists his father, Atz, on an early spring black bear hunt, hoping to redeem his failed hunt last fall. Meanwhile, Atz Lee's wife, Jane, endures the open seas alone while fishing for king salmon. Eivin mills lumber and takes on the first build of the season, a large chicken coop to maintain their crucial food source, while also helping his wife, Eve, find a rogue cannibal hen.

Otto and family battle the elements and predators to drive their cattle to the summer pasture. A missing calf causes Otto and Eivin to head off for a dangerous late night rescue mission. Atz Lee and Jane build a makeshift greenhouse from cast off supplies.

Atz begins his summer range riding season to protect Otto's cattle herd. A bear menaces from the edge; a wolf invades the herd. Otto and family race the clock and the elements to gather in winter's hay crop. Eivin and Eve's cannibal hen strikes again.

The Kilchers rally and call in favors to tackle their largest project this season. They have 48 hours to build a long cattle fence and rebuild a cabin, or the treacherous river's tide will trap their barge full of critical equipment for another month.

With summer half over, the Kilchers head out fishing, but it's not for fun... at least, not entirely. They need hundreds of pounds of fish to eat and barter with during winter. Each couple has their own time-proven technique for catching salmon, halibut and trout.

Atz Lee and Eivin travel 160 miles and brave the bears of "Terrible Island" to hunt deer. Otto refuses to admit defeat and will use all the blackpowder he has to remove a pesky stump blocking his progress. Eve helps Charlotte solve a swarming bee problem.

Fall arrives; the Kilchers scramble to finish their winter prep. Otto confronts a predator killing calves from inside his herd. Atz Lee and Jane catch and smoke salmon in their secret fish camp. Eivin uses a samurai sword to prepare Thanksgiving dinner.

Cattleman Otto Kilcher sees life a little differently. Some people think he's crazy, but he'll tell you it's just his willingness to accept whatever life brings him. Otto's sense of humor is infectious and his ingenuity inspires family and neighbor alike.

For the Kilchers, necessity truly is the mother of invention and recycling takes on a whole new level - from bone yard scavengers and make-do parts to tasty roadkill suppers. And it's not just the Kilcher men who have to be tough and resourceful.