Storyline: Joe is a children's book writer and illustrator in L.A. in the second year of major writer's block. His girlfriend, impatient with his lack of progress, gets bitchy, so he breaks off the relationship and agrees to accompany her brother to a small town in Wisconsin where stalwarts jump in Lake Michigan on Christmas morning. The house where they stay is isolated, and when Joe's pal is hospitalized with a badger bite, Joe is on his own. He befriends a local hermit, is attracted to the man's granddaughter, and must deal with the local sheriff's dislike of anyone from out of town. Plus, the sheriff is the young woman's dad - with a gun. Christmas approaches and things get complicated.

Joe is a children s book writer and illustrator in L.A. in the second year of major writer s block. His girlfriend, impatient with his lack of progress, gets bitchy, so he breaks off the relationship and agrees to accompany her brother to a small town in Wisconsin where stalwarts jump in Lake Michigan on Christmas morning. The house where they stay is isolated, and when Joe s pal is hospitalized with a badger bite, Joe is on his own. He befriends a local hermit, is attracted to the man s granddaughter, and must deal with the local sheriff s dislike of anyone from out of town. Plus, the sheriff is the young woman s dad - with a gun. Christmas approaches and things get complicated.