Gerda is a lonely young woman who has come to love Kai, the handsome young man who works in her father's isolated hotel. But one night, with the threat of a fearsome snowstorm imminent, a mysterious woman arrives, swathed in white fur and diamonds and guarded by wolves - and the next morning Kai is gone! Thus begins a frightening and often wondrous journey, as Gerda sets off to find her beloved and, on the way, discovers lands in which there are nightmarish dungeons and beautiful castles that house polar bears who speak.