Emily loves the festive season. This year she's hosting a special Christmas lunch at her restaurant to celebrate with family and friends. But as the big day draws near, her plans begin to unravel ...

Emily and her partner Bill are happily raising his grandson Pip when Bill's troubled daughter Christine turns up out of the blue. She wants to pick up the pieces of her life, and to reclaim her son. Can Emily give up the boy she's come to love as her own? And how can she ask Bill to choose between the two women he loves?

Emily's best friend Heather is also dealing with unexpected arrivals: the mother she left behind as a teenager, who now needs her help, and a man she thought she'd never see again.

But Heather wonders if these reunions will heal past wounds, or only disrupt the happiness she has now. As Emily and Heather's lives become more and more complicated, will they find their way back to happiness and the people they love in time for Christmas Day?