When Mathew's parents are robbed and killed by renegades he manages to survive by living off the land for a while. The boy stumbles upon the Donner Party on their way into the mountains but is chased away. He follows them and feeds on their discards until one of their drovers is killed by another and Matt, so near starvation, feeds on the dead man. Becoming a cannibal turns Matt into a Wendigo.The process of his transformation, which is accelerated by Matt's continuing to eat the Donner Party's dead as they try to survive the raging winter storms. Then, when he stumbles upon the body of a young girl and realizes that she's still alive, he nourishes her back to life by feeding her the flesh and brains of the dead he encounters.Surviving against all odds and undergoing the process of becoming a Wendigo, delights Virginia greatly since she matures physically and mentally very fast at together they establish a new life for themselves.