Snowcapped Christmas

Renowned figure skating coach Julian King, who only agrees to coach people who have the talent and drive to win, has coached Claire Benson for three years. She has that talent and drive but hasn't yet reached the top of the national podium; a mental and resulting technical error at the end of her program landed her in second place last year. With six weeks until the nationals and a spot on the world championship team on the line, Claire sustains the latest of a series of injuries and Julian sends her to the West Ridge Rehabilitation Centre nestled in the mountains of British Columbia and known for its accelerated rehabilitation program. Claire has a difficult time adjusting to the relaxed small-town attitude. The diagnosis is mixed: her Achilles injury will still allow her to skate, but Dr. Schmidt recommends no jumping for four weeks to let the injury heal, which means that her first jump may be at the nationals itself. In town, Claire befriends Luke and his 8-year-old daughter Chamonix. Luke, the town's hardware store owner/manager and the general fix-it guy, was once a major league hockey player. Despite loving the sport, he decided to chuck in the career and move here when he sustained his latest injury, which coincided with his wife, Chamonix's mother, leaving them. Although he coaches the kids in town, including Chamonix, Luke has not played hockey since, though he still loves it. He could be able to provide Claire a vision of what her post-competitive-career life could look like; up to this point she has dreaded the thought. Claire's thoughts are torn in different directions with the arrival to town of two people: her widowed mother Dale Benson, who has always wanted her to be happy and healthy in all aspects of her life, not just figure-skating; and Julian, who is determined that Claire must work through the injury to win the national and world gold this year.