This is a surprisingly short book. Although initially appearing to be the usual mass-market paperback size, as soon as the pages are opened it becomes clear that there's less to the story than initially expected. It's almost like reading a large print book, with the font size very large and a significant gap between the lines. Despite the normal(ish) number of pages at 250, it's more like a novella and took me less that two hours to read in total. Also, despite the seasonal title, there's very little in this book about Christmas; that's not a bad thing, just that if it were being purchased for seasonal reading, it wouldn't quite fit.

The overall theme of this story is about trust. Aiden O'Conner is a famous actor with five Oscars to his credit, but no one he can trust. His fiancee, friends and family have all turned against him in order to get money, even though he was previously willing to freely give it. He's now holed up in a cabin on his own, licking his wounds, feeding his anger and vowing never to trust anyone again.

Leta is a goddess who once was able to stop Pain, otherwise known as Dolor, by banishing him. However, when Donnie O'Conner summons Dolor in order to inflict Pain on his brother, Leta realizes that she will have a battle again to defeat Dolor. She needs to work with Aiden to do this, but he doesn't trust her - or anyone else. Aiden's already riddled with pain from all the treatment he has received from those he thought loved him, and he is unwilling to trust Leta - initially, at least.

The story follows their battle with Dolor, along with meeting various other gods and the sacrifices Leta has to make in order to protect Aiden. It's a short read which is reasonable enough, but the characterization of Aiden didn't seem to work for me - he's too good to be true, and his friends and family are too bad to be true. Fans of Kenyon's other works will no doubt enjoy this story, but as a standalone novel it's short and rather lacking.