The winter holiday season is a time for gifts and music, for snow and miracles, and for family and going home. For Jessie Malone, it's a time for sorrow.

Jessie is a graduate student living in London, where she hopes to be one of the first folklorists ever to trace an urban legend back to its original source. She's also a grieving young widow unable to heal from the agony of her life-shattering loss.

In the bleak midwinter, Jessie learns of an urban legend about a lonely, wandering ghost, a British sailor named Sam who promised his bride that he'd be home for Christmas. The legends say he's been trying to make it back to her since World War II.

As she investigates, Jessie learns that Sam's story defies the patterns of how urban legends are supposed to work. It's a puzzle she can't let go. To solve the mystery, she must confront the impossible and, just perhaps, discover a miracle of Christmas love that survives beyond the grave.

A story that will engage all your emotions, Christmas Past bursts with wonder, enigma, romance, and the unquenchable spirit that comes from promises that must be kept.

John Adcox