Max has recovered from his dive into the icy lake and starts looking for the troll that saved him from the hole in the ice. A trail leads him to the nearby posh hotel Portly Hill, which is being plagued by a cake thief. When the surly guard, Pus, catches Max, he is accused of being the thief. Sally, the headstrong little daughter of the hotel owner Ostering, sticks up for Max. She also found strange footprints in the snow, that could lead to the real cake thief: a hungry troll.