what the subplot of the book Loser

During the first snowstorm of winter, the little girl, Claudia, runs away and is lost. Zinkoff hears about this and goes on a long, solo trek in the freezing weather, searching for her. He becomes disoriented and almost dies of exposure, only to discover later that Claudia had been quickly found in good health. This final failure, among a long string of failures, touches all the adults, especially Claudia's mother. By being true to himself, Zinkoff has become a hero even though the clueless kids at school still think of him as a nobody.