While taking readings on the ice, he encounters Clara. She is the only other person brave (or desperate) enough to be out in the elements. They are two "summer souls" forced to adapt to a world that has turned white overnight.
The story begins with the "Big Freeze." As the temperature drops fifty degrees in three hours, the city descends into a quiet, white chaos. Léo is tasked with monitoring the "Eye of the Cold," a point in the middle of the bay where the temperature is absolute zero.
Léo discovers that the seeding will cause a flash-flood that could destroy the lower city. He and Clara must race against the ticking clock to alert the remaining citizens and find a way to stabilize the temperature naturally before the "solution" destroys their home. The Resolution
A professional swimmer whose Olympic dreams were crushed when the pools (and the sea) turned to solid ice. She spends her days wandering the frozen coastline, dressed in a heavy fur coat over her summer dress.
A disillusioned meteorologist who predicted the cooling but was ignored. He lives in a cramped apartment filled with space heaters and old jazz records.