A writer for a greeting card company learns the true meaning of loneliness when he comes home to find his girlfriend in bed with another man.

Vera Parks (Melissa Gilbert), an overly intense and demanding Broadway director, gets fired from yet another job, leaving her no choice but to take a gig directing a small town Christmas pageant in upstate New York. Stunned at how basic the production is, Vera attempts to back out, but is convinced by some of the locals to give their town a chance. To her surprise, the warmth and charm of the small town grows on Vera and she even enjoys the experience of directing the pageant. When Vera discovers her former fiancé Jack (Robert Mailhouse) recommended her for the job, she is outraged. But over time Vera appreciates the gesture, as she grows close to both Jack and his young daughter (Lennon Wynn). Will love stay in the wings this time around?

In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city’s subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he’s battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts.