It's December and the Fordyce's Christmas grotto is looking as festive and busy as ever.
So when Jimmy North, a veteran at playing Santa, realises his elf is missing, he thinks nothing of it.
Oblivious to the danger he's in, Jimmy returns to work the next day to find Julie Bennett crammed into the changing room locker with her neck snapped in half.
Who would want to kill an elf? Is the question Jimmy asks himself.
More poignant questions are asked by experienced Detective Chief Inspector Ray Jones and his younger partner detective Sergeant Ted Wilkes, who is quick off the mark.
Attempting to get to the bottom of this Christmas crime, Wilkes and Jones interview Julie's friends Marie Stookes and Daphne Hargreaves who lived in the the flat Julie owned and also worked at Fordyce's shop.
They discover that Julie had an unexpectedly rough boyfriend who the girls didn't like.
But despite his criminal past, Kevin Riley seems too stupid to be capable of murder.
When Rob the pathologist confirms Julie was strangled, the detectives up their game.
They liase with the head of HR at Fordyce's, Miss Pringle, who is less than helpful at times.
While everyone is preoccupied with the Christmas sale and obsessed with seasonal profits, the murderer strikes unnoticed again.
This time it's a threat to Christmas itself...
Are the murders committed by the same people?
Is Miss Pringle's suspicious behaviour caused only by the stress of her job?
Could Kevin Riley be more sinister than he appears?
With no solid leads, the detectives begin to conclude that the murderer either hates Christmas or they're a disgruntled employee.
Will the police pair be able to stop the killer in time?
Who will survive the holidays...?
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