Mathew Dore has never known anything but hardship. Appalling poverty has made him a social outcast while the tyrannical beatings from his sadistic father have stripped him of any self-worth. By age thirteen he has already experienced so much adversity he has become insensitive to it. For him, violence is as normal as snow in January. But on the coldest night of a frigid Wisconsin winter, Matt will face his cruelest hardship of all. Lacking even the barest essentials to maintain human life, Matt first learns how to live like an animal. By lurking in the shadows and taking advantage of any opportunity, he teaches himself the basics of survival. But survival in the wild was easy compared to what he must learn when he comes to the city. There, he not only has to master the art of existing in an unfamiliar world, he must also find his own niche among an uncaring populace without losing the on-going battle just to stay alive on its dangerous streets. Shadows on the snow is more than a tale of survival. It's a story about learning what you want from life and the endless struggle it takes to go after it. These are the hard lessons that must be learned as Matt pursues his elusive dream of having a home and a loving family of his own. He finds that dreams never come easy and sometimes it takes more than hard work to realize them; Sometimes you need luck on your side, and sometimes you simply have to make your own good fortune.