A mischievous ghost with a magical book plays matchmaker between a busy "Scrooge" lawyer with no time for romance and single dad/hockey coach who meet during a progressive Dickens Christmas dinner.

SYNOPSIS:

Successful thirtysomething lawyer Zara and her best friend/personal assistant Chloe, along with other guests in Victorian clothes, approach a neighborhood of historic houses. Zara is a total Scrooge about the holidays. Chloe understands, but thinks they’ll have fun during this dinner, eating each course in a different beautiful home. And, Zara promised to try and have fun tonight. Just then, Zara’s long skirt gets torn on a bush. At each house, Zara encounters a new wardrobe malfunction, so that by the time they arrive for the dessert course at handsome thirtysomething Rafe’s home, Zara looks like she should be in the poor house. Rafe is a single dad to ten year old Nate, and has lovingly restored his family’s home. During the home tour, Rafe tells the group about Aubrey, his ancestor’s ghost who misplaces books from the upstairs library and leaves a lingering cigar smell after his passage. His presence is felt, but never seen. Zara does not believe in ghosts. While Rafe shows Zara a photo of Aubrey and his family, Chloe snaps a photo of them with Zara’s phone. Before leaving, Zara uses the powder room, and smells cigar smoke, but brushes it off to her overactive imagination. She exits to see Chloe descending the stairs, who explains she was just looking for the powder room. At the end of the evening, Rafe joins them on a caroling sing along in a horse pulled cart that takes them back to their cars. He tells Zara and Chloe that if they need any home repairs done, he is their man, and gives them his business card. The next day, a cold snap arrives and Zara arrives at work to find that the photo of her and Rafe is all over social media. Even her mom wants to know who her mystery man is. Zara is furious with Chloe, but they have to get to work on their current case, in which their homeowner client is suing a developer for faulty work on an old house. When Zara gets home, her expensive shoes ooze into water-soaked carpeting. She sneezes while looking for Rafe’s card. Opening her computer bag to retrieve her phone, she discovers a dusty old book, “Charles Dickens’ Love Stories.” She cracks it open, and Rafe’s business card pops out. She thinks back to Chloe in Rafe’s house, and figures Chloe took the book from the library when she went upstairs. Then, Chloe slipped the book and the card in Zara’s bag so she would have to contact Rafe. Anyway, she dials Rafe’s number, and he arrives the next day to survey the situation. A burst pipe is the verdict. Pulling back the carpeting, Rafe comments on the hardwood floor that he could restore. He suggests her allergies would thank her, and Zara agrees. He recognizes the book on the table, and teases Zara about being a kleptomaniac. Embarrassed, Zara tells him about Chloe, but Rafe thinks the ghost Aubrey wanted her to find it, and he thinks she should keep it.

That evening, she curls up to read the book. Each story she reads magically comes to life on the page, with Zara, Rafe, and even Chloe and Nate playing the different characters After her initial shock, she mocks the corny romance of the first chapter, which is about “David Copperfield.” Zara confronts Chloe about playing matchmaker, but she pleads not guilty. As Zara reads the other stories, she becomes less jaded and more intrigued. After Rafe repairs the floor to mint condition, Aubrey plays a prank so that Zara realizes she doesn’t have enough storage space. Rafe turns the area under the stairway into a closet, bringing the two of them even closer. One day, Nate comes with his dad, and even though Zara is adamant at first, Nate convinces her to come to his hockey game. Rafe is the team’s coach. There is a Christmas tournament, and Nate’s team is in the running. This brings back bittersweet memories for Zara, and Rafe and Nate are surprised at how much she knows about hockey. Once the closet is done, Zara thinks Rafe should just buy a cheap doorknob to finish. During the discussion, Zara gets the feeling someone touches her neck, and her necklace falls off. Rafe answers, “Beauty is in the detail, like your necklace.” He reattaches it around her neck, and a tender moment passes between them. Their relationship continues to develop, with Aubrey’s help. Rafe thinks Aubrey stuck around, because he and Rafe have something in common. They’re both widowers. Zara had a serious boyfriend, but he broke her heart. She finally tells both Rafe and Nate about her brother Flynn, who died in a snowmobile accident. He had just been drafted to play hockey in Sweden. That is why it was so hard for her to go back to an ice rink, but doing so helped her find closure.

The time comes for her case to come to trial. In the courtroom, she is shocked to find that the last minute expert witness for the opposing side is none other than who else?... Rafe. He is as surprised as she is. His testimony helps the other side win, and Zara loses her job. Zara tells him he could have been a bit less convincing for her sake, but he responds that he couldn’t lie on the witness stand. She and Rafe are on the outs, even if Chloe reassures Rafe that Zara will eventually come around. A few days later, Rafe is up on a tall ladder fixing a vintage chandelier when a window suddenly opens, and a mysterious wind blows in. Rafe falls, injuring himself. Zara rushes to his bedside in the hospital, and all is forgiven. She comes to terms with Aubrey bringing them together, and moving on from the past. They cuddle together to read the last story, “Little Dorritt.” Rafe leaves the hospital in time to coach Nate’s team to victory in the Christmas tournament. He, Nate, and Chloe spend Christmas with Zara and her parents. They discuss Zara and Chloe branching out to start their own practice, so losing the case was a blessing in disguise according to Rafe. Aubrey plays one last trick, so that Zara and Rafe can finally be alone. The final image is of the Dickens’ book, with Zara and Rafe framed behind it, kissing in front of the Christmas tree, mirroring the image of the silhouetted couple on the book cover.