Publisher's Synopsis
One minute Vincent Lyndon-Smythe is ordering a red sports car online to add to his Christmas village below his Christmas tree, the next minute he is magically transported into his Christmas village, and is actually driving the red sports car on a snow-covered country road on the outskirts of the village. He is sure that he is dreaming, but no amount of pinching will wake him up. To make matters worse, the red sports car suddenly stalls. It dawns on him that he must get it working again to get out of this dream the same way he got in. Can the local mechanic Gavin fix the car? He says he can but he seems to be a bit shady.
Vincent has no choice but to trust Gavin if he wants out of his Christmas village dream. Parts need to be ordered and he must find a place to stay for a few days while Gavin fixes the car. Over the next few days he meets a number of the quirky characters who live in the village, ranging from The Widow Peabody who rents him a room in her apartment in English Lane, to the parish priest father Wesley who unwittingly accepts dirty money from the local gangster Louis Carvalle, and the three guys Lex, Pete and Dave who belong to the unlikely Ugly Sweater Club. There are also the two bankers Mrs. Pennington and Mr. Chandler who are locked in a battle for control of Dollar Bank, and Mayor Winthrop who leads the village council's efforts to impose its environmentally friendly policies on the villagers. Of course there is the mysterious Claus who covertly distributes hampers to the needy. And Moriah, who is even more mysterious, and who warns of an ill wind that may well transcend beyond the confines of Vincent's dream.
Vincent's main focus is getting out of his Christmas village dream, but against his better judgement he finds himself getting involved in the local conflicts, which ultimately causes him to run afoul of Louis Carvalle, the local gangster.
