A few days before Christmas, a young man, Giorgio, unprepared for winter, breaks into a cabin on a remote lake in the Cariboo region of British Columbia. He is discovered, confronted, and interrogated by David, a retired, widowed schoolteacher living alone in a nearby lodge. Giorgio has fled Vancouver in panic to avoid meeting his father, a successful trial lawyer with gang connections, after witnessing a shooting in an Asian restaurant. David will give Giorgio shelter at his own lodge over the Holidays. In return, he wants the full story. Truth is elusive though. Christmas at the lodge is a festive affair: David's family, his dear neighbours with their three children, and now Giorgio as well as his divorced mother, whom David invited on short notice. But those are not the only guests. Giorgio has been tracked down by armed goons who want to take him away. But the story is not just about suspense, there is also a strong sexual component, as David is homosexual, a serious handicap in any school teacher's career. He has managed to keep it hidden, however, by getting married. Now he is getting old, and after an eventful year, he realizes that he is not capable to lead a hermit's life in the wilderness. Christmas again, with the same company, but without Giorgio, is more subdued and somber, as he looks into an uncertain future.