Christmas is not an easy time to sell a house, but Cabot Cove Realtor Eve Simpson has found a buyer for the old Jarvis homestead in Boston tycoon John Bragdon. Unfortunately, Eve gets a lump of coal in her stocking in the form of Kenny Jarvis, who has been missing for years and is presumed dead, but has now come back to stop his sister from selling their childhood home. Eve presses on, organizing a welcome dinner for Bragdon and his wife, Rose Marie, to meet the leading citizens of the town, including Jessica Fletcher. Dinner is interrupted by an uninvited guest - not Santa, but Kenny, who threateningly promises Rose Marie she will never live in his house. When Rose Marie is found dead a few days later, Kenny is the natural suspect. But Jessica isn't so sure he's on the naughty list...
