The Beast of Bradley Downs follows Karoline Hale over the course of a year, when the sightings of the Beast, a werewolf, begin and gradually escalate until her boyfriend is killed. She has to outrun the Beast as well as dealing with the police looking for her, constantly on buses and in ratty hotel rooms. She makes her way to a small town in California, settling for only a few weeks before she has to run from the Beast again, seeking help from a guy, Val, she met in a library. While trying to figure out how to stop the Beast, Karoline gets bit and starts turning into the Beast. After failing to find a cure, Karoline finally realizes that she must face the Beast and kill it, then kill herself. Val and Karoline die in the process of facing the Beast, its body never found.