Though everything is supposed to be merry and bright during the holly jolly Christmas season, for one reason or another, some people can't help but regard the holiday with disdain. This collection explores the stories of such Scrooges, beginning with an estranged father who makes his relationship with his son everyone else's problem at Christmastime, and moving on to an overworked and grumpy old toymaker, a stable owner whose heart is warmed by an act of selflessness, a railroad executive who threatens to close down a small town junction, and a divorced mother who struggles to find her place in a new city, thanks to the curmudgeonly old choirmaster.