Elfrida Phipps thought she was retiring from her London life to a "geriatric bolthole" in the country. She soon finds herself compassionately tending to her neighbor, Oscar, who has suffered a tragic loss. Together, they agree to depart to Scotland for the holidays, in order to avoid Christmas and the painful memories of what has been lost. They will simply skip Christmas. But Elfrida has a young relative desperate to get her own teenage niece, Lucy, away from ugly family drama in London, and asks to join Elfrida in Scotland. Soon, Christmas of the heart creeps in, and this group of random people find a different kind of Christmas might be the best kind.