Thirteen-year-old Maddy finds it hard to adjust to life on her aunt and uncle's farm in Dakota Territory. Her schoolmates think she's spoiled and Aunt Marta makes it clear Maddy is not fit for farm life. Maddy desperately misses her father and life back home in St. Paul Minnesota. But on January 12 1888 everything changes. A blizzard traps Maddy and her classmates inside their schoolhouse. If they stay inside they'll freeze but the risk of getting lost in the blizzard is equally dangerous.