This holiday season in Eagle River, the past is never far from the present.

Kate is bracing herself for a blue Christmas this year. It's the first since her divorce, most of her decorations are missing after too-many moves, and her impromptu gesture of goodwill to one struggling family has caused trouble at the post office.

But her troubles take a back seat after a mail stop at one of the area's oldest churches presents a puzzling dilemma. The rural congregation's antique nativity set, which was hard-carved by an early settler, has vanished from the altar.

When Kate and her friends try to track the artwork's current whereabouts, they are met with a fascinating mix of folklore and facts ... along with resistance to their efforts. The case only gets more curious as secrets are exposed and new leads are revealed. Can they recover the beloved nativity before the Christmas bells ring?