It's been nine years since fifteen-year old math prodigy Ariella Dobbs left her home in the mountains of Georgia to attend MIT. Nine years of changing how she talked, how she dressed, and how she acted--nine years of becoming someone else. It's been six years since she met Hudson Calder, the handsome, sophisticated son of a prominent East Coast family and an MBA student at Harvard who is interested in establishing a computer security business based on her PhD thesis on Chaos Theory. It's been four years since she fell in love, but only one week since her carefully planned future with Hudson crumbled around her and she fled New York City. Desperate to escape a devastating personal and professional betrayal, she returns to Georgia to seek a new beginning in the place she left so many years ago. A spur-of-the-moment decision to hike the Appalachian Trail brings new experiences, new friends, and a renewed appreciation for the woods-wise girl she once was. When a freak, late-season blizzard traps Ariella, her new hiking family, and a severely injured hiker in a small trail shelter, she'll need all her backwoods knowledge to ensure their survival. Set against the backdrop of the scenic Appalachian Trail and filled with authentic descriptions and fascinating lore of the famous footpath, Ariella's story is a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance told through the lens of her unique and beautiful mind.