Plot Synopsis

Based on the book by Robin Jones Gunn. Miranda Chester is a Seattle-based interior designer whose mother, a prominent stage actress, collapsed while performing a Christmas play when Miranda was a child. After her mother's death, Miranda, who grew up without a family and without ever knowing her father, always tried to avoid the painful memories associated with the holiday season. With Christmas only a few days away, she happens upon a suitcase that once belonged to her mom. Inside, she finds a mysterious old photo of a young boy sitting on Father Christmas' lap. When she learns the photo was taken in a New England studio, she flies to the quaint town of Carlton Heath, Vermont, hoping to uncover her family history. There, she meets handsome Ian McAndrick who manages the local inn. When he helps her locate the studio, she is disappointed to find that it's long been out of business. With his encouragement, she explores Carlton Heath, attempting to track down her family history. She soon finds herself falling in love with the Christmassy town and begins having feelings for Ian. After she is introduced to local resident Peter Whitcomb's family, she discovers that Peter is the young boy in the old photo and her long-lost brother -- and that the man who was Father Christmas in the photo is her deceased dad. Having become smitten with Miranda, Ian asks her to permanently stay in Carlton Heath. Now that Miranda has finally found a place where she belongs, she must choose between possibly tarnishing the family's pristine image of her dad by disclosing she's his daughter or keeping her identity a secret and returning to Seattle without the love she's always dreamed of having on Christmas.