The world may be celebrating the end of WWII in 1945, but that doesn’t mean everything is merry and bright. Many are healing from their physical wounds as well as the unseen emotional devastation. Rosie Bessler works all-hours to fill holiday orders while navigating life with her ex-soldier husband—turned stranger. With life’s realities and their ongoing debate over having children, keeping their woodworking business afloat, and finding financial security their marriage is anything but bliss. Wounded warrior, Victor Bessler longs for a new beginning so he can forget his past. He returns to Rosie and the once peaceful Sugar Maple only to find that the effects of war have reached far beyond Europe. . His search for peace and love seems unattainable until an orphaned boy and his wife show him the true meaning of Christmas.

Disowned, former socialite and unwed mother, Shirley Stephens, searches for options to care for herself and her young child after her boyfriend dies while fighting in World War II. Answering an advertisement about a full-time nanny position, she develops a solid backstory to cover her past sins and flees to the faraway town of Sugar Maple, Tennessee. Former war correspondent, Wayne Bishop, lands a job at a mediocre, feel-good newspaper in order to earn money to care for his widowed sister-in-law and her children. His job takes him to a small town to cover the adoption of five street children, but when he discovers the nanny is a war bride struggling to live without her husband he is drawn to her story. Shirley must keep her identity a secret despite the handsome and attentive reporter’s interest, but Wayne Bishop will stop at nothing to uncover her secrets all in the name of good journalism.