When one of Santa's reindeer meets a grisly end during the annual A Downtown Dickens Christmas Festival, Rue realizes her enemies are closing in on her location, and Samford will pay the price.

But when one creature turns into two, and two into three, and then three into four, Rue knows the problem is bigger than a singular threat to her new hometown. And that's before a holiday shopper strolls into Hollis Apothecary claiming to be a long-lost relative. Of her father's.

As old loyalties are tested and new relationships threaten to unravel the fabric of her identity, Rue must choose either the family she was born into or the one she created for herself, and the losing side might not survive her decision.