Elfrida Phipps loves her new life in her pretty Hampshire village. She has a tiny cottage her faithful dog Horace & the friendship of the neighbouring Blundells
- particularly Oscar
- to ensure that her days include companionship as well as independence. But an unforeseen tragedy upsets Elfridas tranquillity: Oscars wife & daughter are killed in a terrible car crash & he finds himself homeless when his stepchildren claim their dead mothers inheritance. Oscar & Elfrida take refuge in a rambling house in Scotland which becomes a magnet for various waifs & strays who converge upon it including an unhappy teenage girl. It could be a recipe for disaster. But somehow the Christmas season weaves its magical spell & for Elfrida & Oscar in the evening of their lives the winter solstice brings love & solace.