Sanger Rainsford and his hunting companion Whitney are traveling to the Amazon forest to hunt the fabled big cat of that region, the jaguar. After a discussion about how they are the hunters instead of the hunted, Rainsford hears gun shots, drops his pipe, and falls off of their boat while trying to retrieve it. After he realizes he cannot swim back to the boat, he swims to an island, Ship-Trap Island, that is the subject of local superstition. He finds a palatial chateau owned by a Cossack hunter named General Zaroff and his gigantic deaf-mute Cossack servant Ivan. General Zaroff, also a big-game hunter, has heard of Rainsford and read Rainsford's book about hunting snow leopards in Tibet. Over dinner, General Zaroff explains to Rainsford how he became so good at hunting that he became bored and unchallenged with it. He then decided to live on an island where he captured shipwrecked sailors and sent them, with only food, a knife, and hunting clothes, into the jungle. Three hours later, he would follow them to hunt and kill them. If the captives eluded him and Ivan for three days, Zaroff would then let them go, but Zaroff has so far managed to kill them all. Zaroff invited Rainsford to join him in his hunt but Rainsford refuses. Zaroff then tells Rainsford that he will be the next person to be hunted (if he refuses he will be knouted to death by Ivan).
Rainsford runs into the forest and climbs a tree. Zaroff finds him easily, but decides to play with him like a cat with a mouse. After the failed attempt, Rainsford builds a "Malay man catcher" which injures Zaroff in the shoulder. Next he sets a Burmese tiger pit, which kills one of Zaroff's hounds. Finally, he sets a trap that was a native trick he had learned in Uganda with his knife that kills Ivan, but not Zaroff. As the hounds approach, Rainsford jumps off a cliff into the ocean. Zaroff assumes Rainsford has killed himself and returns home. As soon as Zaroff locks himself in his bedroom and turns on the lights, he screams, as the light reveals a man hidden by the bed curtains. Rainsford is there, having swum around the island. Zaroff congratulates him on winning the "game", but Rainsford decides to fight him, and says "I'm still a beast at bay." The General accepts the fight, saying that the loser should be fed to the dogs and the winner would sleep in the master bed.
The fight is not described in detail, but the story ends with a comment from Rainsford, saying "He had never slept in a better bed", implying that Rainsford had defeated Zaroff
Rainsford runs into the forest and climbs a tree. Zaroff finds him easily, but decides to play with him like a cat with a mouse. After the failed attempt, Rainsford builds a "Malay man catcher" which injures Zaroff in the shoulder. Next he sets a Burmese tiger pit, which kills one of Zaroff's hounds. Finally, he sets a trap that was a native trick he had learned in Uganda with his knife that kills Ivan, but not Zaroff. As the hounds approach, Rainsford jumps off a cliff into the ocean. Zaroff assumes Rainsford has killed himself and returns home. As soon as Zaroff locks himself in his bedroom and turns on the lights, he screams, as the light reveals a man hidden by the bed curtains. Rainsford is there, having swum around the island. Zaroff congratulates him on winning the "game", but Rainsford decides to fight him, and says "I'm still a beast at bay." The General accepts the fight, saying that the loser should be fed to the dogs and the winner would sleep in the master bed.
The fight is not described in detail, but the story ends with a comment from Rainsford, saying "He had never slept in a better bed", implying that Rainsford had defeated Zaroff
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