Brakes - wont hold fluid or generate compression when pumped but still work

First time driving after the blizzard was the first time I'd encountered my anti-lock brakes in years.  They
shuddered me to a stop maybe a total of three times in two miles before I made it to a main and clean road
and got up to speed.  I smelled something not-good but it didn't smell like brakes at the time and I turned up
my heat vent and could smell that it was coming from me (not the other two cars in front of me) but it quickly
passed and was gone.  Almost immediately after this my brakes floor before kicking in - pumping them
generates no compression.  I checked the brake fluid and it was of course low so I filled it and though it took
12 hours to seep out again it had zero effect on the brakes themselves which, despite being at the bottom of
the reach still work perfectly.  My question is this:  is there something that this is the obvious symptom of
beyond a tear/rip in a break line?  My local guys are very good but without fail go for the most expensive fix.  My
guess is I have punctured or torn a brake line (drove through MUCH snow in the blizzard) but I can't see where
it is and also I once in a while smell the brake fluid dripping on something hot when I exit the vehicle but can't
see where.  If there's some obvious thing this sounds like that's more than that - well that's my question.  
Thanks for your time!