Five Gold Rings (Hallmark Mystery - 2024)

We’re on a beach, which might make you think it’s not Christmas—but it is. How do we know? Well, a grandma and her granddaughter are wearing Santa hats! The grandma finds a St. Nicholas locket and explains to her granddaughter that with the name on the back of it, she’s going to work hard to find the owner. The girl, Audrey, shows Grandma a drawing she made for her for Christmas. They go back to Grandma’s shop, where they put the locket in a secret spot and frame the picture.

Cut to the present day: Audrey is now a big-city artist. She’s heading back home for the holidays for the first time since Grandma passed away. Her mom tells her that Grandma left her the old desk in her will and requested that Audrey look in the secret spot. Inside, there’s a letter and five gold rings. In the letter, Grandma asks Audrey to work to return these five gold rings to their owners, just like they used to do every Christmas. She also insists that Audrey ask Finn O’Sullivan for help.

So, Audrey goes straight to Finn’s office—he’s a private eye. Finn was actually the first person she and Grandma returned an item to. He was just a kid back then, but now he’s all grown up. They quickly catch up on the important stuff, like whether either of them is in a relationship—they’re not. Then, they get to work on the first ring. They’re able to figure out that it has something to do with a dancer who played Clara. After a few dead ends and a snowman-making break, they finally track her down. She’s thrilled!

Onto the next: one night, Audrey is looking at one of the rings that has a small box attached. It pops open, revealing a key. After some sleuthing, they discover it opens a drawer in an old desk. Inside is a transcript for a book. They find the author—or rather, the author’s son—who didn’t even know his dad had been writing it. He’s overjoyed to have it.

In the meantime, they track down a few more owners, which leaves them enough time to make a ton of homemade ornaments. They end up going to a ball, slow dancing, and almost kissing. Then Finn drops a bombshell: his grandma had already paid him for his services. Audrey thought he was in it for the love of the mission, so she’s upset. But he explains that his grandma paid him because his business was struggling.

Finally, there’s one more ring left to return. They trace it back to a Santa, who reveals he actually made the ring for Audrey on behalf of her grandma. Audrey gives him a drawing she made of him. And then—she and Finn kiss.