Dazzler Spitfire is an elf on a mission. She has until Christmas to pull herself together, keep her magic, and her life. She heads to Holly, a town devoted to Christmas and home to her best friend. Together, they craft a plan to stay one step ahead of those wanting to bring her in front of the North Pole Review Board for trial.

Todd Dugan knows magic only works for others. His divorce from Dazzler's cousin proves it. He's fine tending to the reindeer for the western leg of Santa's midnight ride. When he agrees to chair the holiday committee in Holly, he'll prove human technology is just as good as magic. Neither counts on Todd's version of the Dugan family curse: When he meets his mate, the lights in Holly will fall dark.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, the town's mayor demands a demonstration to prove the Christmas decorations are behaving as they should. The tech works until Dazzler shows up, bringing Todd's ex-wife with her; and then the lights go out. The trouble is, Todd's realizing the elf he always thought of as just a good friend means a lot more to him than that. A single kiss decides his fate. Is he willing to risk that long friendship for something more?

His heart makes the choice for him. For a brief moment, he has it all-friendship, love, and magic. Then Dazzler loses her magical abilities and gets sick. Worse, in a freak sleigh accident, she reduces the town's Christmas displays to ash and cinders.

Christmas is ruined, the town is demanding action, and the bureaucrats at the North Pole plan to strip Dazzler of her quirky magic once and for all. And when an elf loses her magic, she dies.