Trama

Mia (Lowndes), a meticulous webpage editor for the Seattle Tourism Board, finds herself unexpectedly navigating the holidays alone. As the only one working, she's drawn into an unusual encounter when she encounters a stray dog.

Mia (Lowndes), a meticulous webpage editor for the Seattle Tourism Board, finds herself unexpectedly navigating the holidays alone. As the only one working, she's drawn into an unusual encounter when she encounters a stray dog. Unsure how to handle the situation, she crosses paths with Max, a dog shelter owner. Mia agrees to let Max's ailing dog find solace with her newfound companion, in exchange for Max showing her the hidden gems of Seattle. Through their journey together, they both step out of their comfort zones, discovering new perspectives and forming a meaningful connection.

Mia Park describes her current life as "a hot mess". Originally from Miami, she moved to Seattle six months ago to get as far away from her previous life as possible including from a lucrative career which she feels abandoned her and thus which she abandoned in return. As something to pay the bills while she figures out what to do, she started working as the online content coordinator at the Seattle Tourism Bureau under her friend Isabel, Mia no closer to finding that next life as she still works that job for which she places little effort in not even gotten out to discover Seattle for herself. Her life becomes more complicated in the Christmas season when a stray dog enters her life. Not being an animal person let alone having the wherewithal now to care for another being, she tries to place the dog in a shelter, unsuccessful in the few in town being at capacity. Sensing an opportunity to make it a win-win-win situation, Isabel suggests Mia take the dog, who she's named Russell, on doggie Christmas outings about which she can post about on the Bureau's website. In taking candid shots of Russell with another dog with who he formed a bond, Mia hits upon a Christmas love story sensation for the Christmas season. The problem is that the other dog, Jules, belongs to Max Covington, the director of one of those dog rescue shelters, Mia and Max who had a run-in in their initial encounter in that Max is all about the dogs. Initially reluctant to the proposal, Max ultimately agrees to allow Mia to document Russell and Jules' love story online in part so that he can monitor Mia's temporary fostering of Russell, while admitting to himself that Russell has gotten Jules out of her funk. Max is overly protective of Jules due to an issue from his recent past. As Mia and Max spend more and more time together, they slowly start to fall for the other. What happens between them is affected by the struggling non-profit shelter threatening to close by the end of the year due to lack of funds, and both their pasts catching up with them.—Huggo