Presenting the complete 1855 Christmas number of Dickens" periodical Household Words, so popular after its original publication that it was immediately adapted for the stage A journeying gentleman finds himself snowed in at the Holly-Tree Inn, and resolves to entertain himself by recording the stories he hears from his fellow tenants. Trapped for a week, he is regaled with tales from all around him, including the barmaid and the landlord. The fictional delights he feasts upon include an intriguing mystery by a master innovator of the genre, Wilkie Collins, as well as classically Dickensian sparks of humor and romance.