The narrative switches to the perspective of Jenny Wolf, Joe’s only daughter. She is a political science teacher and varsity football coach at Hunters Point High in San Francisco. Jenny is tough and well-respected by her athletes. As practice comes to a close, Jenny’s players show her news reports about her father’s death in a supposed drowning.

Danny Wolf, Joe’s oldest son and director of the San Francisco Wolves, a professional football team, is eager to rework the organization now that he is fully in charge. He longs to fire the aging quarterback, Ted Skyler, along with the team’s manager, Mike Sawchuck. After dismissing Sawchuck, Danny receives a mysterious phone call about his father.

Joe’s middle son, Jack, has inherited his father’s spot as publisher of the San Francisco Tribune, the most conservative newspaper in town. Jack is excited to publish a story exposing the mayor of visiting a seedy massage parlor. He refuses to push the story even after learning about his father’s death.

At a memorial gathering at Wolves Stadium, Jenny is forced to confront a number of people she dislikes, including sports reporter Seth Dowd and her father’s mob-connected rival, John Gallo. Gallo implies that Joe was murdered so that someone could gain control of the Wolves. Jenny vows to keep the team in family hands.

As Gallo pulls away from Wolves Stadium, he begins to suspect that Jenny is a threat to his plans and is too much like her father. He calls one of the Wolf brothers and orders him to make sure Jenny doesn’t become a problem. Then, he calls another unnamed man and tells him to have someone follow her.

The day after Joe’s funeral, Jenny attends the Wolves’ season opener, sitting in seats she secretly bought after her last fight with her father. Moments before the Wolves are set to win the game, the team’s star receiver DeLavarious Harmon collapses on the field.

An ambulance is brought on the field to collect Harmon, who hasn’t moved. When an official ends the game, Jenny goes to the locker room, where Danny tells her Harmon has died. She is shocked when Danny callously calls Harmon’s death an optics problem for the team.

Wolf’s will leaves houses to both his wives, but money only to his first wife. The fourth and youngest son, Thomas, who is vice president of the Wolves, has the majority of his money set in a trust that will be available in five years. Danny complains that his share is too small. All three brothers retain their current positions at the football team and newspaper. However, to everyone’s shock, Joe’s will declares that Jenny is to be chairman of Wolf, Inc., the family’s business empire.

Jenny’s first thought is about the Hunters Point football team. Driving to practice, she fends off calls from reporters and wonders if her father is trying to control her even after his death. The high school players remind Jenny of her love of football and convince her to accept the position as chairman.

Jenny meets her ex-husband, Wolves quarterback Ted Skyler, at a bar to discuss her father’s will. The Tribune has published a front-page article calling Jenny a she-wolf, and she finds the publicity off-putting. Ted reveals that he overheard Joe threatening to take the team from Danny. Despite Ted’s encouragement, Jenny decides to reject the position.

The next morning, the Tribune publishes an article about Jenny rejecting the position; she realizes that Ted leaked their conversation. At a press conference, Jenny shocks her brothers by announcing she will take full control of the Wolves and Tribune, as her father wanted. Danny threatens her, but Jenny reminds him that she has never responded to his threats.

Jenny begins working out of a small office at Wolves Stadium and Danny immediately starts a fight with her, insisting that he is still president of the team. He challenges her to fire him, but she refuses to make him a victim by doing so. Jenny asks Danny how DeLavarious Harmon died, and he grows defensive. When he leaves, she calls their brother Thomas.

Despite coach Rich Kopka’s objections, Jenny meets with the Wolves privately before practice. She encourages them to ask her anything: Although initially resistant, they seem to open up to her as she tries to prove she knows enough about football to run the team. Jenny challenges them to win in order to impress her.

Danny watches Jenny and the players from his office, fuming when he notices the players’ approval. He feels like Jenny is threatening his control of the team, just like his father’s overbearing interventions used to. Danny calls Jack and tells him to take down their sister in the Tribune, encouraging him to exploit her past.

Detective Ben Cantor meets Jenny after practice at Hunters Point High to question her about her father’s death. He reveals that the current theory is that he fell or was pushed overboard and had a heart attack while trying to swim against the currents. Cantor is suspicious of Jenny, since she is a champion swimmer who gained both power and money from her father’s death.

Jenny meets with NFL commissioner Joel Abrams, who tries to convince her to give up control of the team. Because Jenny has no experience in professional football, the other team owners must approve her. Although Abrams promises Jenny she’ll lose the vote, Jenny reasserts her determination to follow her father’s will and act as owner.

Danny and Abrams meet with Gallo to discuss how to remove Jenny from power. Gallo is furious that Danny hasn’t dealt with his sister, like they discussed. Privately, he thinks that Danny has no idea about the serious stakes of this fight. Danny promises that Jack and the Tribune will take care of Jenny.