At seventeen, Diane Eicher has lost almost everything - and she's in danger of losing even more.After her parents die in a buggy accident, Diane is bereft. It was all so sudden, not only for her, but also for her four younger siblings. Heartbroken, Diane turns to the young man she's courting for support. But when Elmo learns that Diane is determined to care for all four of her siblings, he's quick to back away. Now Diane is all alone, and the local bishop has told her that unless she can prove to him that she can run her parents' fabric store as well as raise her siblings, the children will be split up and sent to relatives in distant states. Diane has already lost her beau and her parents - she can't face losing the rest of her family, too. And the bishop has imposed an impossible deadline: Christmas Day. The snow is falling, the holiday is fast approaching, and Diane is struggling to cope with responsibilities she never asked for.Yet as Christmas Day draws near, there's a glimmer of hope in the darkness. Diane meets Ben Lehman, himself trying to raise his two children after grieving the loss of his wife. As Christmas approaches, he might turn out to be just what Diane has been missing ... before she runs out of time.