First published 2025
Paul Wanlass has spent three years in darkness since a Christmas Eve accident claimed his family. He works as a computer repairman in Salt Lake City but feels no connection to his job, his neighbors, or life itself. When a stranger appears at his door claiming to retrieve a laptop, Paul lets him inside. The encounter leaves Paul questioning whether it actually happened or existed only in his dreams. The stranger returns and Paul confronts him with a challenge: give him one reason to keep living. The stranger accepts but warns that the path ahead will surprise Paul completely. What follows transforms Paul's world through unexpected connections. A robbery brings him face to face with a woman who has also suffered devastating loss. Paul intervenes when he sees a young boy being bullied, only to discover the child needs help that goes far beyond protection from tormentors. These encounters seem random at first, but Paul begins to sense a deeper pattern connecting these people and events. The question haunts him: who is this Christmas stranger, and how will these mysterious connections help Paul discover meaning again?
Genres: literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
Setting: Salt Lake City
Period: Christmas
272 pages · Hardcover · Gallery Books