Out of the night came Jan and into the lives of all those at the company post on Lac Bain, in the Canadian Northland. Jan, almost starved and frozen, enters into the lives of John Cummins and Melisse, his daughter, playing his violin for food. He stays to become a beloved member of their family and the community. But Jan has a deep mystery about his past that haunts him. When a stranger shows up at the camp, this hidden past is threatened exposure. Jan's mystery unravels as he faces life at the remote outpost during the early 1900s, a smallpox outbreak at the camp, and his love for little Melisse. It is the Honor of the Big Snows, part of his heritage, that Jan must keep, and that leads him to leave the post searching for his honor in his past. The Honor of the Big Snows by James Oliver Curwood deals with a complex and unorthodox story around Jan. Even today, many people will identify with Jan and his search for his honor.