I *really* recommend actually buying and playing Syberia I before playing Syberia 2. You understand just what is going on here and what her involvement with this family is. Things make a lot more sense. There's a "recap" option on the main menu of Syberia 2 but that is very surface level.

I suppose you can always Read the Walkthrough of Syberia I to see what was going on there! That's probably the most comprehensive thing to do.

But for the quick synopsis, here it goes. Kate Walker is a really ditzy lawyer sent out to the remote reaches of the French Alps to get a signature for control of a toy company. She keeps getting calls from her jerk boyfriend who thinks she is incapable of doing anything on her own, and her fashion-hound best friend. As the game goes on, the calls get more and more bizarre and you finally realize the two are having an affair and lying to you. It is REALLY sleazy.

Kate goes looking all around this town to try to find someone to get a signature from. She realizes that there is actually an heir that currently owns the factory, named Hans. As she goes through the factory and other buildlings, she finds things to indicate that Hans was abused by his father, and that Hans had an obsession with mammoths.

You find a robot named Oscar who drives a big, mechanical train. So you and Oscar hop on the train to go hunt for Hans. You go from station to station, having to do strange things at each stop to get the train going again, and learning more about Hans the toymaker and his mammoth quest.

As you finally reach a "resort town" (in the middle of the tundra of course) you do find Hans and learn that he actually thinks he knows where the mammoths are. At this point you (Kate) realize that you can either go forward with Hans and actually go on an adventure, or you can return to New York with your slimy boyfriend and back-stabbing best friend waiting for you. You choose to head out with Hans on his quest. And that's where it ends.

Syberia 2 Walkthrough

Syberia Review
Syberia 2 Review