New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry's twenty-first heart-warming Christmas novella.

When Mariah Ellison arrives in the picturesque village of St Helen's to spend the festive season with her old friend Sadie Alsop, she is shocked to discover that Sadie has vanished. Her husband has no idea where she has gone or when she will return but, thankfully, Mariah has other friends in the village who are willing to offer their hospitality.

Once settled, she begins a rigorous search for Sadie that is fuelled by malicious gossip as harsh as the winter snow. Has Sadie run away? Has she been kidnapped? Has someone harmed her? And how long can she survive if she has no shelter from the bitterly cold weather? As Christmas Day approaches, Mariah is increasingly determined to solve the mystery of Sadie's disappearance and bring her home in time to celebrate Yuletide together . . .

"Praise for Anne Perry's Christmas novellas: 'A bite-sized mystery that could be fitted in after your Christmas lunch" - Daily Telegraph

"If Christmas puts you in the mood for a good Agatha Christie, try Perry" - Glasgow Evening Times

"Delightful...The perfect gift for a whodunit addict" - Oxford Times

"With its powerful message of responsibility and redemption - 'We need both to forgive and to be forgiven' - it conveys a moral force in keeping with the season" - Wall Street Journal

"A Christmas cracker full of rich storytelling, classic conundrums, timeless life lessons and the gift of forgiveness" - Lancashire Evening Post

"The tale is redolent with Victorian atmosphere, from the hypocritical snobbishness to the rigid social conventions of the time" - Tangled Web

"[An] engaging historical mystery . . . a winner" - Booklist