It's a cold rainy winter. Oakland PI Jeri Howard is having a tough time getting into the Christmas spirit—and dealing with a prickly client. Naomi Smith's daughter Maureen ran away three years ago. At various times Maureen was homeless. Now she's dead and her two-year-old daughter is missing. It's dangerous out on the mean streets of Berkeley, for an adult let alone a child. Can Jeri find the little lost toddler before time runs out?