Christmas falls on Peridale, but that does not mean café-owner and part-time sleuth, Julia South, can sit back and enjoy the festivities. When the opening night of the annual Christmas play ends with Julia's elderly gran, Dot, fatally shooting a man in front of the whole village, Julia's world is turned upside down. Did Dot plan to murder the man she has a secret past with or was she framed?
While juggling the slow process of adopting her foster daughter, her heavily pregnant sister's looming delivery date, and her detective inspector boyfriend seemingly keeping secrets, Julia must wade through the tangled history of the Peridale Amateur Dramatics Society if she wants to free Dot from prison before Christmas Day. With the walls of Julia's personal life closing in around her, and the cast and crew of the play not being all they seem, can she figure out the truth in time, or is it one case too many? The only thing guaranteed is that it promises to be a holiday season to remember...