Return again to Ballysea, Ireland and join Cat Murphy and her Irish Wolfhound, The O'Brien, as their plans for a peaceful Christmas are abruptly interrupted by the unexplained disappearance of children from the village.

With snow falling the night of the long awaited Christmas Ball at the manor, Cat's daughter Molly and Edward Granville's daughter also go missing. No traces of the girls can be found, only their footprints in the snow leading towards the forest. When the exhausted search party returns to the manor, only The O'Brien continues to search through the storm.

When a ransom note is received, will Cat and The O'Brien be able to free the girls and bring the kidnappers to justice or will the faithful hound lose his life trying?