Jessica is an orphaned heiress who loves Christmas. With grandpa ready to hand her the reins of the family real estate empire he’s built, she decides to take a relaxing trip to her deceased mother’s hometown of Glenbrooke, Colo. In classic rich person fashion, she orders one of her employees to allow her to drive his personal car the twelve hundred miles from Los Angeles to Colorado, but only after making sure he had filled the tank with gas.
Kyle is a bitter firefighter with an MIT degree who despises rich people and progress. To prove his disdain for money, he leaves his high-paying corporate job to become the fire chief in his run-down village and keep a wary eye on the burgeoning town of jaded rich people on the other side of the mountain. The last thing his town needs is a bunch of successful people moving in.
The house Jessica’s mom grew up in is now an Air BNB and is available for her trip to memory lane. The owner has festooned it with at least twenty thousand dollars of lights and lawn ornaments, but somehow forgot to purchase a Christmas tree. She heads into town to buy a tannenbaum, which seems extravagant for someone who’ll only be around a few days, not to mention a fire hazard when she leaves and forgets to water it. But she’s got money to burn and doesn’t care if she takes down some stranger’s house in the process.
The town church’s beloved Christmas bells short circuit. Kyle, who was lured to safety by the bells when he was lost in the woods behind the church as a child, discovers the repair bill will cost $10,000. Unlike the rich village on the other side of the mountain, this struggling town doesn’t have that kind of cash just lying around, mainly because they blew a chunk of their fund balance last year on a shiny new fire truck for Chief Kyle.
Jessica could have fished that much loose change out of her purse but keeps her wealth a secret after another Kyle rant about the evils of money. Instead, she takes a job as a temporary art teacher at the community center and comes up with the bright idea to make the kids sell their precious paintings to the rich folks from Brantley to raise the dough. Those fools will buy anything.
The art show is a huge success, but disillusionment sets in when Kyle discovers the woman he’s falling for is a billionaire (men hate when that happens). He stomps off in a huff. She skulks out of town only to be stopped by an avalanche blocking the road. Kyle, finally realizing the value of true love, chases after her in an emergency vehicle and convinces her to come back to town even though she has no choice since the road is closed.
Relationship update: Jessica moves back to Colorado but feels more comfortable with the snobs in the toney trappings of Brantley. Kyle wants to slum it in Glenbrooke and calls it off.
Dead parent alert: Jessica was orphaned as a small child when her parents died in a tragic car crash. Kyle’s dad kicked the bucket a few years ago.
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Edits by Todd 