Ten-year-old Danny Lee doesn't share his sisters' excitement when their schoolteacher comes to live with them in January of 1895. Danny knows each family needs to take a turn housing their teacher, Miss Spaulding. But she's one more person in the house treating him like a child and telling him what to do. Of course this means more work for Danny, who already has many chores helping Ma and Pa on their farm in New York. Danny soon realizes that Miss Spaulding is a good houseguest, and he enjoys his conversations with her. But he also yearns for some male company and is excited when he gets to take his horse on a day trip with his older cousin, Jay. The trip becomes scary when the boys are caught at the beginning of a fierce blizzard that lasts for days.