Plot

Dumped before Christmas, famous Hollywood actress Olivia secretly returns to her hometown to eat cookies and avoid the press. Instead, she must step up to take the starring role in her own life.

Movie star Olivia O'Hara looks forward with dread to a bittersweet Christmas. The third movie in a successful superhero franchise in which she stars will be released on Christmas Day, but she wants to return to what she trained for, namely the classics and more taxing dramatic fare. But what she is most concerned about this Christmas season is avoiding reporters and the paparazzi who only seem interested in her public humiliation surrounding the breakup with her rock star now ex-fiancé, Ryan Wrangler, who broke up with her via text. She can admit in hindsight that their relationship was heading in the direction of a split in Ryan now seeming more concerned about his fame than about her. To avoid the publicity, for the first time since she became famous, Liv heads home to small town Happy Valley, Colorado unannounced to spend Christmas with her family. Not returning before now was as much about lack of time as it was about the painful memories of her long-deceased father Michael O'Hara, the basketball coach at her alma mater, Eagle Heights High. In Happy Valley, she runs into an old high-school classmate, Casey Rawlins, one of her father's star basketball players, who now teaches English at Eagle Heights. Liv finds that she can return home as she reconnects with the school through its annual dramatic Christmas Eve production, there where she became inspired to become an actress, and with Casey, an unspoken crush when they were students together. But as Liv and Casey start to fall for each other, a future for them could be placed in jeopardy if the paparazzi finds her, they who could manufacture any story they want with the right photograph--unless Liv can provide the truth to combat that which is made up.—Huggo

Happy Valley, Colorado English teacher Casey Rawlins fears that his small-town high school won't be able to put up the annual Christmas play as the seasoned director isn't available. Graduate Olivia 'Liv' O'Hara, now a Hollywood actress, whom he dates while a basketball player coached by her late father Michael, returns home there for the holidays after being publicly dumped by her fiance', rock star Ryan Wrangler. Bored, Liv is easily lured to help out the primary-school teacher and to volunteer as guest director. It goes surprisingly well, she even connects over father-loss with the class maverick. The old affair between Casey and Liv rekindles, but she's startled when the paparazzi she came to avoid find her trace, and even Ryan makes a surprise appearance.—KGF Vissers