It is Christmas Eve. Binny has four hours to make Christmas happen and she couldnt feel less like wishing glad tidings of good will to all men least of all to Oliver. It is raining, her house is falling apart, the streets are jammed with people and it isallOlivers fault. Darting into a shop to escape a conversation, Binny finds herself in the sort of place she would never normally visit. But in amongst the shelves is a surprising source of peace. A beautiful gem of a short story from Rachel Joyce, bestselling author ofThe Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold FryandPerfect The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy.

Rachel Joyce is the author of theSunday Timesand international bestsellersThe Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry,Perfect,The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy,The Music Shop,and a collection of interlinked short stories,A Snow Garden&Other Stories. Her work has been translated into thirty-six languages.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frywas shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Rachel was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards New Writer of the Year in December 2012 and shortlisted for the UK Author of the Year 2014.

Rachel is also the award-winning writer of over thirty original afternoon plays and adaptations of the classics for BBC Radio 4, including all the Bronte novels. She moved to writing after a long career as an actor, performing leading roles for the RSC, the National Theatre and Cheek by Jowl.