It was written by Erin Hunter, which is a collective pseudonym used by authors Cherith Baldry, Kate Cary, and Tui Sutherland and editor Victoria Holmes.

The novel details the adventures of four bears, Toklo, Kallik, Lusa and Ujurak, who are stranded together in the wild and must learn to survive.

The book sold well and had generally positive critical reception with reviewers suggesting the series would appeal to fans of Warriors.

Holmes ultimately suggested a series about bears, noting their solitary lifestyles, minimal history of domestication, and great fighting potential as factors that attracted her to writing about them.

Lusa resolves to find Toklo in order to deliver his mother's apology, and successfully escapes from the zoo.

The novel drew comparisons, sometimes unfavorably, to the Warriors series, with Holly Koelling from Booklist noting that "despite the change in species, much will be familiar to readers".

[11] The bears, by undertaking this quest, are forced to gain survival skills as they go along and to do so without the assistance of adults to mentor and guide them.

Koelling noted how the novel has a balance of cute anthropomorphic characterisation and also gives a realistic view of how hard it is for the bears to survive on their own.

[10] In contrast, Jennifer-Lynn Draper in School Library Journal praised the novel's fast pace and Hunter's ability for, "creating and sustaining the adrenaline-charged mood".