Sandy Mecowatch, a descendant of Missinabi Cree people, falls through the ice leaving behind his wife Louise and eleven year old daughter Alison " Joe Pete" . Joe Pete's grief propels her to risk searching for her father in the same winter conditions that took him. Along with her obedient and protective cousin Simon, they embark on a journey where they will find more than they anticipated buried beneath the snow. Their journey will unlock the ancestors and spirits embedded in the present who call back to a past marked by war and kinship, by conflict and wisdom that continue to contour their trajectory towards the future.