A Simple Twist Of Fate

Viewed by his neighbors as a recluse with a mysterious past, cabinet maker Michael McCann has withdrawn from society to lead a solitary, unencumbered life. One fateful winter's night, the beguiling baby daughter of a young mother who has succumbed in the cold and snow wanders into Michael's secluded cabin. As a result, his life changes forever. The strong attachment that immediately develops between Michael and little Mathilda leads the once-morose man to legally adopt the orphan. Together, the pair happily begins life anew, thriving on mutual devotion and filling every day with the most extraordinary experiences any parent and child would be delighted to share. Unknown to Michael, his daughter's biological father is local politician John Newland, who observes the girl's progress from a distance, while making plans of his own for the future of the child he abandoned at birth. When Newland eventually comes forth and publicly demands custody of the girl, a bitter controversy ensues over what constitutes a real family. In the midst of a threat to their way of life, Michael and his daughter must prove the definition of family cannot be limited to traditional terms and values