Sydney Carpenter is a devoted mother to her young son, and is now accustomed to the puzzling existence of her mysterious, non-communicative husband, Matthew. When her husband and son are suddenly lost at sea after a boating accident, Sydney's comfortable existence is shattered. Although overwhelmed by her grief, Sydney cannot ignore the strange pieces from her husband's past that continue to make their way into the present.

When you're the city attorney you don't need the kinds of problems that her father was giving her. After her mother died, her father began doing his "Santa Schtick," as she called it, much more intensely... which meant that he turned his home into a kind of year-round Santa Claus castle where children of all ages could come to see the wonderful presents and no child ever left without a gift.