Taste Of Snow

"When winter arrives in the Austrian Alps, eleven-year-old Nicole Kinders is given a candy cane by the mysterious shopkeeper, Boznik, who tells her that the candy cane is magic. From that day on, extraordinary things begin to happen. Some good. Some bad. Extraordinarily bad. Nicole finds herself losing the joy of holiday preparations, and realizes that the vexing secret she keeps is influencing every part of her life. Her hopes of having a magical Christmas take her on a journey beyond where any ordinary girl would choose to go." --Front flap of book jacket.