In Austin, exes Maggie Collins and Jeff Randall have remained best friends, which has been a benefit in parenting their two children, twelve year old Mia Randall and adolescent Sophie Randall, especially at Christmas which they have all spent together even after the split. Things have changed this Christmas with the entrance into the picture of Jeff’s new girlfriend, Kate Reynolds, she and Jeff who are taking the girls to Aspen to spend Christmas with her father Ted Reynolds and her stepmother Susan Reynolds. This change is difficult for Maggie not only because this will be the first Christmas for her without the girls, but that Mia seems to have become best friends with seemingly perfect Kate. So when Kate invites her to spend Christmas with them, Maggie jumps at the chance, not even yet knowing Kate’s wealthy family situation, the events to take place at the family estate. The further problem for Maggie is Kate usurping many of the Collins-Randall Christmas traditions with her wall-to-wall scheduling of Christmas activities for the girls, and Kate and Jeff usurping what Maggie saw as her special moments as a mother with her daughters. The balance of power changes with the unexpected arrival of Kate’s brother, Tokyo-based chef Sam Reynolds, the black sheep of the family. Seeing what is happening between Maggie and Kate, Sam agrees to help Maggie take back Christmas with her daughters in return for her professional help as a graphic designer in a business pitch he is planning on making concerning what used to be a Reynolds family company, it the real reason he decided to return for the holidays. Further complications ensue when it looks like Maggie and Sam start to fall for each other, a stable relationship which is not part of what has been Sam’s life.