Faith, Hope, and Joy. As children, the Garland sisters
seemed to fit together as seamlessly as their names. Banding
together helped them survive their free-spirited parents,
who moved from place to place and whim to whim, until their
father took off for good. But as the girls grew up, they
became virtual strangers.
This Christmas, they intend to spend the holidays in their
usual way: far apart. But their ailing grandmother wants her
girls around her once more, and Hope, always the peacemaker,
convinces her reluctant sisters to travel to Leavenworth,
Washington. Hope is immediately charmed by the unique
setting, modeled on a Bavarian village, and by her
grandmother’s handsome, mysterious neighbor. Still, there’s
scant trace of celebration within the Garland family. Joy’s
main motivation for visiting is to secure start-up funds for
a coffee shop. Faith, oblivious to her children’s
unhappiness, is waiting until the holidays are over to
announce that her marriage is over and she has a new love.
With a festive schedule of candy-cane martinis, hot tubs,
and snowball fights, Hope tries to expose and heal old
resentments, but moving forward as a family will take more
than a little seasonal goodwill.
Against a stunning winter backdrop, Mary Carter brings rare
insight to the deep and complicated nature of sisterhood—a
bond that endures far beyond childhood, and can always bring
us home again.