Wolf's Rain

Summary: 

    Wolf's Rain begins in Freeze City, a northern city in a world where the majority of people live in poverty and hardship. According to a nearly forgotten legend, when the end of the world comes, Paradise (楽園, Rakuen?) will appear but only wolves will know how to find it. Wolves are believed to have been hunted to extinction nearly two hundred years ago, but they still live, surviving by using illusions to give themselves human appearances.[1]

Kiba, an injured lone white wolf goes to Freeze City following the scent of the Lunar Flower, which is the key to opening Paradise. There he encounters Tsume, Hige, and Toboe, three other wolves living in the city who were drawn there by the scent of the Lunar Flowers. The wolves also have their first encounter with Quent Yaiden, a former Sheriff obsessed with searching for and killing wolves, and his dog Blue. Cheza, the Flower Maiden who will lead the wolves to Paradise, is being studied at a laboratory under the care of Cher Degré. She is awakened by the smell of wolf's blood. As Kiba and Hige approach the lab to find her, she is stolen away by Lord Darcia the Third, whose people created Cheza.

With Cheza gone, none of the wolves have any reason to stay in the city. Despite some initial misgivings and suspicions they decide to stick together and follow Kiba in his search for the Flower Maiden and Paradise. As they pursue Cheza, the wolves travel through various cities and the empty shells of former habitations. Cher joins the city's army to try to recover Cheza, while Cher's ex-husband Hubb searches desperately for Cher, and Quent continues his relentless pursuit of the wolves. When Blue eventually encounters Cheza, it awakens her sleeping wolf blood and causes her to leave Quent and taken on her own human illusion. She joins Kiba's pack and travels with them for awhile, developing a relationship with Hige. After she gets separated from the pack, she travels with Cher, while Hubb finds himself traveling with Quent, who is now searching for Blue as well as the wolves.