Elizabeth Cubbon, called Bessie by nearly everyone, has many friends on the Isle of Man. She's called the island home for more years than she wants to remember. When one of her friends, Mary Quayle, asks for a favour, Bessie is quick to agree. Mary is hoping that Bessie can track down Walter Bolton, a man who was once friends with her husband, George.

While doing her best to find Walter, Bessie is also busy with the cold case unit's next investigation. Eleven years ago, Lance Goodman was stabbed to death while wearing a Santa suit and sitting inside Santa's sleigh in a department store in a small town in the US. As the unit begins to go through the case file, they quickly discover that a lot of things were missed during the initial investigation.

Can Bessie and the cold case unit discover who killed Lance Goodman? Can Bessie's network of friends across the island track down Walter Bolton? Can the Seaview's new pastry chef come up with more than a half-dozen different types of fairy cakes?