One December night, in the sleepy Cotswold village of Chilton Crosse, a drifter with a mysterious past collapses on George and Mary Cartwright’s snowy doorstep. As Christmas cheer spreads throughout the village with a Dickens-themed festival, Mary nurtures the stranger, Ben, back to health, and becomes curious about the secrets he’s been holding so tightly. As Ben gains his strength and begins to trust Mary and George, he lowers the wall he’s so carefully constructed.

But when Christmas Eve arrives, one of his secrets accidentally comes to light, forcing him to confront the darkness of his past—and to rediscover the faith he’d lost months before. And on that holiest of nights, he finally begins to understand that mercy and forgiveness are meant for him, too.