What is the full name of Mathilda's adoptive father?
When high school music teacher Michael McCann discovers his wife is pregnant by his best friend, he divorces her and retreats into a life of solitude as a maker of finely crafted furniture in rural Virginia. Five years later, his only companion is a valuable collection of gold coins. Tanny Newland, the unsavory younger brother of politician John Newland, crashes his brother's car in the woods surrounding Michael's house, seriously injuring the woman he is with. Afraid of being arrested for drunk driving, Tanny steals Michael's coins while he is sleeping, takes off into the night and is never seen again.
Weeks later during a winter storm, Michael is startled to discover a toddler has wandered into his home while he was outside gathering wood. A short distance away he discovers the body of her mother, a heroin addict whose car had run out of gas nearby. Unbeknownst to him, the child is the illegitimate daughter of John Newland, who participates in the investigation but keeps his relationship to the child a secret in order to protect his career.
Michael is permitted to adopt the child and christens her Mathilda. She proves to be a bit of a handful in her early years, but with the help of friend and local shopkeeper April Simon, Michael manages to raise her to be a bright, personable, precocious young lady, and the once sour, lonely man is transformed by her presence. As John Newland watches his daughter grow older, he begins to invite her to join him and wife Nancy in their home. John arranges for her to learn to ride a horse, eventually giving her one of her own.
Due to Nancy's two miscarriages and the couple's deep desire to have a child, Nancy insists on adoption. John finally reveals Mathilda's true identity and his desire to adopt her properly. Nancy encourages him to gain custody of the girl, and a trial ensues.
Michael McCann