The Ingalls family moves into the town of DeSmet to weather the dangerous winter ahead. As the snow mounts, Laura and her family must ration their food and coal as they wait in vain for a train to arrive with supplies. Almanzo Wilder and his brother realize that if something isn’t done soon, everyone will starve. They begin an impossible journey across the frozen prairie in search of provisions, before it’s too late.

The adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as Pa, Ma, Laura, Mary, Carrie, and little Grace bravely face the hard winter of 1880-81 in their little house in the Dakota Territory. Blizzards cover the little town with snow, cutting off all supplies from the outside. Soon there is almost no food left, so young Almanzo Wilder and a friend make a dangerous trip across the prairie to find some wheat. Finally a joyous Christmas is celebrated in a very unusual way in this most exciting of all the Little House books.