It is the week before Christmas 1954, and vicar Sidney Chambers is rushed off his feet with church duties. He has little time to think about his beloved Amanda, estranged from her husband and now heavily pregnant. Sidney loves her, but whether she is married or divorced, he knows there is no way a clergyman can have a relationship with her. DI Geordie Keating is as grumpy as Scrooge over the festive season.